Chloe and The Mice
by happyhooligan2001
Summary: After creating an international incident, Chloe O'Brian is sent to London to work with British Intelligence. Crossover with MI5 Spooks. Now complete.
1. Fencepost

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter One**

**Fencepost**

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Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from 24. I guess I do own some of my original characters. If you want to borrow any go ahead.

Chloe O'Brian was staring intensely into the screen at the man in the blue suit. In LA night had fallen but this man walked in the warm morning sunshine. Chloe was in The Zone concentrating, no distractions. The trouble with satellite coverage was that satellites were always moving. There were gaps in the coverage, blind spots. She might lose the man for varying periods of time and have to spot him again. She checked another screen and saw that the red Toyota Land Rover was still sitting in the driveway, good.

From the corner of her eye she spotted a red shirted security guard wandering by. "Coffee!" she barked. The first word she's said in over 2 ½ hours. Without a word he picked up the large insulated mug and headed for the break room where the best coffee was. Good to know those guys weren't completely useless.

She was going to lose coverage of the man for 6 minutes and 20 seconds. Enough time for a long needed trip to the ladies room. Her body protested getting up. It was still pretty sore from the beating Reich Reborn gave it two weeks earlier. On the way out a quick look in the mirror. Chloe had a habit of rubbing her face when she was tired and it played hell with her makeup. Screw it. Back to work.

She had lost the man but she knew where he was heading and his approximate speed. He was walking to the bank because obtaining a vehicle without leaving a paper trail was difficult. And cab drivers have a habit of remembering things they shouldn't. The bank didn't open until nine so he had plenty of time to kill.

When Chloe regained satellite coverage she saw several men in blue suits. Even in Tehran not everybody wore a robe and the blue suit seemed to be a uniform for business men all over the world, especially here in the financial district. She double checked the Land Rover and saw it was missing. Oh wonderful. She tried to find it. As long as it didn't head northeast she didn't care if it went to China. She spotted one but it was too dirty. She looked for the man in the blue suit. Chloe saw only one face and it wasn't her man, however everybody has a distinct walk and posture. Just concentraaate. . . .

"Chloe, I need you to take a look at this." Shari's voice broke the spell.

"Go away!" Is it that guy by the fire hydrant? No.

"It'll only take a sec."

"Shut up! Go away!" She never took her eyes of the screen. Where the hell is that Land Rover?

"It's important."

"Shut up! Go away! If you don't understand any of those words there's a dictionary on Patrick's desk!" The man on the corner? Too tall.

"There's no need to be so rude! After all the work we went through to rescue you!"

"Eternal gratitude! Shut up! Go Away!"

Is it that guy? No, his hair's too long. Oh there he is crossing the street. Shari is quiet. She must have left. She was working evening shift tonight. Most of CTU had gone home hours ago. Chloe had worked day shift and evening and it looked like she would be here all night. She spotted the Land Rover. It was almost there. Crap! He almost never came in on a Saturday.

Ali Sulliman strode confidently to the bank, briefcase in hand. He was familiar with Tehran. It was after all his home. He had fled from it as a young man with his parents after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Since then he had been back several times, at first for the CIA and later for CTU. He was no longer a young man.

His short black beard was now flecked with gray, and like many other older men he had a hearing aide in his right ear. That hearing aide now spoke with a feminine voice speaking English.

"He's approaching, thirty yards behind you."

Sulliman calmly stepped into a nearby café. He casually moved to the far end of the counter behind several other people sipping coffee and ordered one himself. From the corner of his eye he watched Rashid walk by.

Rashid worked at the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank back when Sulliman's family owned it back in the '70's. Now he was the president and only employee who might possibly recognize Ali. He might not even remember him after all these years but Chloe didn't like leaving anything to chance. She had a backup plan lying on the couch in the break room snoring. She believed in a backup for a backup for a backup when planning an operation. Of course there were some days when CTU is thrown on the defensive and everything is made up on the fly. On those days they usually ended up with a stack of bodies and more pictures on the Wall of Remembrance.

Sulliman felt calm. He had an angel watching over him. A good angel if not a very friendly one. Ali Sulliman loved O'Brian. All the agents did. They might not necessarily like her. She did have a rather prickly personality. But they did love her because she gave them a much better chance of coming home alive.

Ali got a taste of her prickly side when training for this operation. For six hours he endured her sarcasm and snide remarks while practicing putting the program in the computer until she finally told him "Good enough." She then let him go on a 45 minute lunch break and told him to come back because good enough wasn't good enough. It took another four hours before she was finally satisfied. It might have been annoying at the time but that drive for perfection was helping to keep him alive.

While Ali waited patiently in the café Chloe watched Rashid enter the front door to the bank. She then switched to the bank security cameras that she had hacked into. Rashid was wandering around the lobby. Chloe picked up a phone and woke up her backup.

Airman Apprentice Kim Song, age 30, had immigrated to the US from Pusan, South Korea six months earlier. After a month frying hamburgers he enlisted in the Navy. He had been packing parachutes at Point Mugu when much to his surprise his security clearance suddenly leaped to Top Secret and he was transferred to CTU for five days. He had been coached on what to say but not why. Chloe wanted a recent immigrant. The accent had to be perfect. Rashid probably wouldn't notice a bogus accent but good enough wasn't good enough for Chloe.

As Kim held the phone to his ear he looked nervous. Chloe gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile but she was just as nervous. The distant phone rang twice before the male secretary answered it.

Kim had been drilled extensively on what to say. "This is Mr. Kim from Pusan Steel and Construction. I would like to speak with Mr. Rashid. Is he in?"

"Yes sir, hold on a minute and we'll page him."

On the security cameras Chloe watched Rashid suddenly walk to the elevators. A few minutes later she heard Kim say "Hello Mr. Rashid, my company would like to lease facilities to import steel into in to your country. There is a huge building boom that we would like to take advantage of. Can we discuss interest rates?"

"Yes Mr. Kim, you'll find our rates are very competitive." Both men were speaking English, the international language of business.

Chloe whispered to Ali "You are go."

Ali paid for his coffee and sauntered out to the bank. He walked confidently up to the desk and presented his credentials. "Mr. Siddique here to repair the computers." Chloe hoped his paperwork would hold up. It was forged over at the CIA and she didn't trust the CIA. Too many people over there would leak classified information to the press for personal or political reasons. Of course CTU wasn't much better. She suddenly thought of Spencer.

Ali's paperwork held up and he was directed to the bank's mainframe where he began to work. For well over 20 years the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank was suspected of being used by terrorist groups. But the encryption codes were too good and constantly changing. The program code named Fencepost should fix that. Ali had been trained extensively by Chloe how to enter it so it was second nature. Still it took time. Chloe made a stretching movement with her hands to Kim to try to keep them talking.

Ali Sulliman assumed that Fencepost had been created by Chloe O'Brian. He was wrong. He managed to upload the entire program when Chloe noticed some Iranian police entering in the front door. Had they been found out?

"As you leave the room turn left, then left, then right. Use the fire exit." She whispered to Sulliman.

Sulliman managed to disarm the alarm on the fire exit and slip out into the alley. He used a lighter to destroy the disk he had brought in and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket dialing a number as he walked to the railroad station.

The phone rang three times before it was answered. "Hello?"

"Cousin Ramad! Its me Ali! Are you going to make it to the wedding next Thursday?

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world! I'll even bring Uncle Mohammad!

"OK, I'll see you then."

Out on the Persian Gulf on board the USS Kitty Hawk the dark skinned middle eastern man hung up the phone. He was sitting in the radio room dressed in the khaki uniform of a Navy ensign but he wasn't in the Navy. He sent a coded message to Los Angeles where O'Brian received it.

"Fencepost is planted!" She announced to Director Hayes.

"So we can activate it now?"

"No! Not till Agent Sulliman is back in the safe house in Turkey! We've waited years for this we can wait a few more days." Chloe rubbed her face. It was going to be a long night. She had no idea what she was about to unleash.

Authors Note: Yes, I know this story doesn't have any mice yet. Just be patient.


	2. Money Talks

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 2**

**Money Talks**

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any character from 24 Yada Yada Yada. I don't own the song either.

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Money talks, it'll tell you a story

Money talks, says strange things

Money talks very loudly

You'd be surprised the friends you can buy with small change

They say it's the root of all evil

They say gold is the king

Money talks, you'd better believe it

All that gold don't mean a thing

Money Talks by J.J. Cale

Three days later the sun was shining in LA and it was the wee hours of the morning in Tehran. It was time to activate Fencepost. Much to Chloe's irritation Bill, Karen, and several analysts had gathered around her workstation. Don't these people have any work to do? What were they expecting? A fireworks show? The only thing keeping her from telling these rubberneckers to get lost was the fact that two of them were her bosses.

"It's about time," Karen declared, "Lets get this thing started."

Chloe pulled out a drawer and picked up a small blue cell phone.

"Is that all you need?" Bill asked.

"I suppose I could try to find a big scary evil cell phone but this will work."

"Never mind, proceed."

Chloe had to dial a felco prefex then enter through an internet socket. She punched in 483795 then held the 2 button down for three seconds. She heard a steady tone. Then she punched in 70346 star 8. Then she calmly folded the phone shut and put it back in the drawer.

"Nothing happened." Patrick declared.

"No something happened." Chloe said, "Now get back to work everybody!" She almost felt sorry for the people on the other side. Almost.

It was two a.m. in Tehran and Tahmin Malik was sitting in the computer room of the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank with his feet on the desk reading the paper. It was rather dull on the night shift. Occasionally the guard might come by and chat for a few minutes but it was mostly boredom. So he was surprised by the beeping noise. He looked up to see all the screens changing. With growing fear he tried to access the computer only to find himself locked out. Everything he tried met with failure. Terrified he picked up his phone to call Mr. Rashad.

Two months earlier the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank had replaced its old fashioned videotape security camera system with a more modern digital system. One of the first things the worm did was erase all camera footage. There would be no pictures of Ali Suliman. It then went through the system eating the firewalls like acid.

Mr. Rashad groggily picked up the phone. Who would call him at such an hour? "Hello."

"Mr. Rashad! The computers gone crazy! There's something inside it!"

"I'll call the technicians! I'll get them there as soon as possible!"

The technicians were too late. Even if they had got there in time there was nothing they could do. Chloe had defeated this virus years before but it had taken everything she had. And there just weren't that many Chloe's in the world.

The analysts at CTU kept probing at the computer half way around the world until the firewalls finally collapsed. They then went in like a swarm of barbarians and downloaded everything. The CTU mainframe was flooded with data. The vast majority of it was routine banking transactions. It would take weeks to go through it and discard the irrelevant information but they would find an occasional diamond.

After the firewalls collapsed another refinement appeared and the virus began erasing itself. Chloe had spent weeks extracting this monster from CTU's computers and she didn't want some clever terrorist to do the same. As they tried to repair the damage Mr. Rashid swore Tahmin and the technicians to secrecy. People would become angry if they found out about this. Very dangerous people.

Chloe and her analysts spent hours tracing money trails through dummy corporations and wealthy individuals some of whom didn't exist. Money was the lifeblood of terrorism and it went everywhere.Oil money converted to dinars converted to pounds converted to rupees converted to dollars converted to yen converted to euros. Just follow the money. See where it goes. Holy Shit! Better put that in the report. Finally she put together a preliminary report and went to see Bill and Karen.

"So Chloe, what do we have?" Bill asked.

"First of all, Senator Daniel Bell has been accepting campaign money from Middle Eastern terror groups!"

"Let me see that!" Karen demanded. She took the printouts and leafed through them. "The money has been carefully laundered through dummy corporations and legitimate political action committees. I'm sure Senator Bell doesn't know where the money's coming from."

"But he wants to cut intelligence funding across the board! And he wants to shut down CTU entirely! He's also planning to run for president!"

"Yes," Bill said, " He seems to think we're a bunch of fascists who torture people. The fact that we actually do torture people doesn't help."

"That's not fair! We only torture people under the most extreme circumstances! And calling us fascists only shows a complete ignorance of Italian political movements from 1920 through 1945!"

Neither Karen or Bill knew where that came from. "Senator Bell is a very influential member of the Senate intelligence committee." Bill stated. "Releasing this information would create a political firestorm."

"I think he's the one who leaked that CIA operation in Yemen to the press." Chloe went on, "One of our people ended up beheaded!"

"It wasn't one of our people," Karen said. "It was a Yemeni informant. And there were a lot of people who could have leaked it."

Chloe's eyes narrowed and her jaw set in anger. "So! Because he's not an American his life doesn't mean anything?! Senator Bell has an ax to grind. Everyone knows it!"

Now Karen was getting angry "I'm just saying we don't have any proof! This remains secret!"

"But we've got to tell someone!"

"Tell who?" Bill asked, "We can't prove anything without releasing information that we'd rather not release. If we told Senator Bell he would just think we're trying to blackmail him. If we told President Gardner he probably would try to blackmail him. Maybe try to change his votes on key issues. Is that what you really want?"

For a long moment Chloe pouted at them. It was clear from her expression exactly what she thought of Senator Bell and his votes. Finally she slowly and reluctantly shook her head.

"We'll cut the money off from its source but that's as far as it goes," Bill said, "It's possible that Bell and the terror groups both want CTU closed for entirely different reasons. Meanwhile not a word of this leaves this room. Understand?"

"I understand."

"So what else do we have?"

"There are four terrorists working on the U.N. staff."

Bill raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment "What! Only four!"

Chloe rolled her eyes "I'm sure there's more but these guys have been withdrawing large amounts of cash."

"U.N. staff all have diplomatic immunity, we can't touch them," Karen stated. "But we'll have CTU-NY follow them. I'm sure the people they're passing the cash to don't have immunity."

"And finally we have Mnemosyne Shipping and Export Company. They've been around for nine years during which they've never made a profit. They stay in business only because their investors keep pumping money in. These investors are individuals and governments that also sponsor terrorism. Among their assets is a warehouse in Tiajuana. They've recently leased a cargo container to ship coffee beans to Birmingham, England but have only bought enough coffee to fill 1/5th of a container that size."

Bill smiled, "And you want to know what's in the box?"

"Well, duh!"

"That's where we have a problem. The Mexican government is still furious over the Salazar incident where we actually sent troops into their country and killed Mexican citizens."

"They were drug smugglers and terrorists!"

"That doesn't matter. We violated their national sovereignty. They have forbidden any more American agents on their soil without permission. Unfortunately there's a lot of corruption among the local officials. We don't know who's clean and who isn't. If we inform the wrong people they might tip off the bad guys."

"The container is scheduled to ship out at 6 p.m. today. That gives us a little over five hours. They might change the destination and we'll never find it."

"We have two agents in San Diego," Karen said. "They are both Hispanic and can pass as Mexicans. We can send them but this will be a black op. No one's to know about this."

It would take the agents about an hour to get ready and in position and Chloe decided that was enough time for lunch. She decided to go to that Chinese place down the street that Shari was so fond of. Shari had been studying the financial records but now her workstation was empty. 'She must have gone ahead,' Chloe thought "I'll meet her there.'

Shari was at the Chinese restaurant but she hadn't gotten any food yet. She was in the back of the restaurant where the pay phones were calling an old college friend who was now a reporter for the Los Angeles Tribune. "Hi Wendy, I've got a great lead for a story. It's about Senator Daniel Bell. . ."

Author's note: Sorry if this chapter seems to have a lot of economics and politics in it, and hey! There's still no mice! Just hang on.


	3. In Trouble Again

**In Trouble Again**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 3**

Disclaimer: If I really owned the rights to 24 a lot of people would still be alive and attending Jack and Chloe's wedding. I don't own the song either.

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Steppin' softly in a danger zone

No weapons in my hand

It's just this brain, designed by man

It's got me in trouble again

In trouble again

I put my life in jeopardy

In the service of my friends

I wouldn't care, but it's a dangerous affair

'Cause I'm in trouble again, trouble again

In trouble, in trouble, in trouble

Theme song

Star Wars: Droids

1985

Antonio Reyes drove to the border checkpoint with his partner Gloria Lopez, The CTU headquarters in San Diego was rather small and considered more of a branch office of Los Angeles rather than a fully independent operation. Reyes and Lopez were the only two field agents assigned there full time although more could be flown in for emergencies. In the year and a half they worked together Tony had grown very fond of Gloria and was spending more time at her house than his own small, rather messy apartment. He was even considering asking her to marry him. He was a short burly man, rather muscular with a shock of black hair that seldom met a comb

At 5-11 Gloria was rather tall for a woman, five inches taller than her partner, very thin, graceful, and a crack shot. Two weeks earlier she had dyed her hair blond which, unknown to her, had really annoyed her partner who preferred the original dark brown color. He just never said anything for fear of hurting her feelings. Together they looked like a bulldog and a gazelle.

"So Tony, have you ever met Agent O'Brian?" Gloria asked.

"Yeah, I've spoken to her a couple of times in LA."

"Did she ever strike you as. . ."

"Weird? Odd? Not playing with a full deck? Just plain nuts?"

Gloria giggled. "Well, yeah, It's just that we're going to be trusting our lives to her."

"Well the Angelinos swear by her, at least the ones who are still alive. God knows they've had more than their fair share of bad luck these past few years."

"I just hope she doesn't collapse when things get rough. I'm afraid she's just going to leave us out on a limb."

"We'll just have to hope for the best."

After a cursorily inspection at the border they headed toward the warehouse near the docks. The plan was to go posing as customers and try to use their best judgment to discover the contents of the cargo container. They all wished they had time to come up with a better plan.

The Mnesothyne Export and Trading Company warehouse looked no different from any of the other warehouses. They parked outside, went inside, and introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Soto. Owners of a small furniture company. Presently they export to the US and Canada but would like to expand to the European and Asian markets.

Both agents had cell phones which were on all the time even when they appeared off. Chloe endured twenty minutes of business chit chat, blah, blah, blah. "No, you can't visit the warehouse for insurance reasons. You understand of course?"

Finally agents Reyes and Lopez left the office and returned to the car. "Drive past the pile of scrap metal and park behind the blue fence," Chloe told them. "It'll look like you left."

"Now approach the Northwest corner of the building," Chloe whispered. "There aren't any windows or cameras covering that area." The two agents followed her instructions and pressed against the wall. They slowly edged around the corner. All this sneaking around would be a lot easier if it wasn't broad daylight outside. Suddenly a small metal door opened. Tony and Gloria crouched behind a dumpster as a long haired man walked out. He walked past the dumpster headed toward the parking lot. Gloria managed to grab a mop and thrust the handle into the door just before it closed. As soon as the coast was clear the two agents slipped into the door.

"There are fifteen people working in here," Tony whispered to Chloe. "They're all armed with what appear to be Uzis, We're going to move in closer to see what they're loading."

"Just be careful guys."

Chloe heard some muffled movement and whispers. Then she heard Gloria whisper "Chloe, a crate of Stinger ground to air missiles. Ay yi yi."

Tony whispered "This one has land mines, those nasty plastic and ceramic ones that don't show up on metal detectors."

Gloria added, "And some C-4 and a couple of bales of good old fashioned marijuana."

"OK, that's good enough, get the hell out of there."

"Chloe we can't leave, there are people near all the exits," Gloria whispered. "We need backup."

"Stay tight, I'll see what I can do."

Chloe looked up at Bill. "They're stuck. They need backup."

"We don't have any assets in the area, neither does the CIA."

"Then we'll get the Mexicans."

"Chloe, they're in the country illegally. If we call the Mexican authorities they'll be arrested."

"Fine! Let them be arrested! We'll sort it out later."

"When President Gardner authorized this operation he expressly forbid any involvement with the Mexican authorities without his express permission. We're involved in delicate trade negotiations with Mexico and he doesn't want to screw them up."

Chloe scowled, then began transmitting. "Tony, Gloria, no help is coming. Find a good hiding place and just lay low for now until you can get out."

"Oh! It's way too late for that sweetheart!" A strange voice declared.

Chloe suddenly froze, "Who is this?"

"I'm the man who has your friends. I heard the lady call you Chloe. Such a lovely name. I believe it means 'blossom' in Greek." He had an accent, definitely not Mexican.

"Look buddy! It's all over, the warehouse, the container, we know everything. Just don't hurt our agents and it'll go easier on you!"

"Chloe! I just heard you say no help was available. I think that gives me plenty of time." She knew the accent. She'd hung out with enough of Morris's relatives to know an Irishman when she heard one.

"OK! You have plenty of time. Just cut your losses and walk away. I can't stop you. They can't stop you. Killing them won't accomplish anything."

"Chloe darling! It'll make me feel better! We spent a lot of time and money on this little operation and now you and your pals ruined it! I'm just going to slowly break every bone in their bodies one by one. Heh! Heh! Heh!

Chloe shut off her transmitter "There are Navy Seals at Coronado! That's just across the border! They can be there in minutes!"

"I can't send troops into another country without authorization from the President!" Karen sounded distressed.

"Then get it!"

"I'm trying!"

"I'm notifying the Mexicans."

"No! President Gardner doesn't want to anger the Mexican government!"

"So what! They're our friends! My friends piss me off every time I see them but they're still my friends!"

"It'll take them 30 to 45 minutes to make an appropriate response. That's too much time!"

On her headset Chloe heard a crack and a man's cry of pain. She turned her transmitter back on. "Listen, I'm a professional, you're a professional, there's no need to do this. They don't have any information you can use. Just leave them."

My sweet little Chloe! I have to make them pay. Don't worry. I'll save the spine and skull for last. I wouldn't want them to miss anything. Heh heh heh." Chloe then heard a pop and a woman's strangled sob.

Chloe's voice quivered. "Please! I'm begging you! One human being to another! Don't do this! Just walk away!" She closed her eyes when she heard another crack and a man cursing in Spanish.

"Chloe my love! You sound like such a sweet girl but I don't think you have the stomach for this business." She heard another crack and more feminine sobbing.

Chloe looked around. If she just got up and left Bill and Karen would know she was up to something and try to stop her. Bill was hunched over Shari's workstation and Karen was still on the phone. "He's making a speech?! Of course you can interrupt it! Another fifteen or twenty minutes?! We don't have that much time!" No one was looking directly at her.

'Don't have the stomach?!' Chloe thrust two fingers into her mouth to the back of her throat. Just press down. . .

A partially digested Chinese buffet exploded through her mouth onto her blouse and pants. Everyone looked at her in shock.

"Chloe! Are you OK?" Bill asked.

"I'm sorry! It's just the stress!"

Karen looked sympathetic. "Go clean up Chloe, we'll handle things here."

Chloe got up and rushed to the ladies room, as she went past Bill he gave her an odd look. 'He knows I'm up to something!' She thought but he didn't try to stop her.

As she rushed to the back she paused only long enough to grab a framed commendation off the wall. Now running she saw a water fountain. The stomach acids burned like fire in her esophagus and the vomit taste in her mouth was nauseating . She was sorely tempted to stop for a few seconds and rinse her mouth out but a few seconds meant another broken bone so she resisted and ran past it. She made it to the ladies room but instead of going in she went across the hall to the tech room. Patrick was in there working on something.

"Get out!" Patrick gaped at her and Chloe realized that she must be a ghastly sight. "NOW!!"

Patrick hurried out and Chloe shut the door behind him then popped the cover off the electronic lock and changed the combination. She then rushed to the workstation and typed in a sequence that set off a special sleeper program that she had entered into the mainframe years ago.

"We've just lost all outside communications!" Shari shouted.

Karen and Bill looked at each other, "Chloe!" They rushed back to the tech room.

Chloe had a headset on and punched in some numbers. She could hear a telephone ring. "Pickup, pickup," she whispered impatiently.

"Admiral Hodge," a voice stated.

"This is Karen Hayes, regional director, Department of Homeland Security," Chloe said. "My authorization code is PAPA YANKEE INDIA UNIFORM EIGHT SIX NINER ONE."

"Code confirmed, what can. . ."

"I need a Seal team in the air ASAP. Seconds count. They'll be hitting a warehouse."

"Roger." Chloe was put on hold. She didn't mind. She imagined Admiral Hodge barking orders while she was busy typing a presidential order.

"We can't get in." Bill told Karen. "She's changed the combination."

"I think I can get the door open." Shari said. "It'll take a few minutes though. Give me some room!"

The admiral came back on the line. "OK Director Hayes, they're scrambling, where's the target?"

"The target is in Tiajuana, Mexico. I'm sending coordinates."

"We can't go into Mexico without written authorization from the President."

"I have it, I'll send it immediately." Chloe tried to remove the back of the commendation CTU received from President Gardner. What the hell?! Little screws?! She grabbed the edge of the frame with both hands, swung it high over her head, and brought it down on the edge of the table as hard and fast as she could. With a loud crack of breaking wood and shattering glass the frame broke. She snatched the document out of the smashed frame. A muffled curse being the only sign that she slashed the heel of her hand on the broken glass. She lay the document on the table and used a small hand scanner to scan President Hal Gardner's signature from the bottom. The discarded commendation then fluttered unnoticed to the floor as she transferred the signature to the order she just typed and sent it to Admiral Hodges. It was a crude forgery at best but it was good enough for an e-mail. By the time he got it the Seal team was already in the air.

Chloe took a brief moment to call the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego to tell them to have a trauma team standing by, then contacted the Seal Team leader. "This is Chloe O'Brian from CTU. I'll be guiding you in. The SITREP is there are two severely wounded American agents held captive in a warehouse. There are at least fifteen armed terrorists on site. Your primary mission is to rescue the agents."

"Thank you Chloe, this is Lieutenant Cobb. Maybe we can get together for dinner after this?"

"Keep your mind on the job lieutenant! This isn't a damned dating service! Have the pilot land on the west side of the building. You can blow open either one of the vehicle bay doors without hurting anyone who doesn't deserve it. . ."

"Shari, can't you do that any faster?!" Karen asked impatiently.

"No!"

Karen looked through the small window in the door at Chloe. She'd always been a disciplinary problem and what she was doing was commendable in a way, but she just didn't understand the consequences.

"There's an armed man crouched behind the southwest window," Chloe said. "Wait! He's waiting for two more of his buddies to get there. Hold it, hold it, Now!"

The Seal team launched a grenade through the window. Glass shattered throughout the neighborhood as it exploded killing the three men inside. They then rushed at the building.

The door to the tech room slid open. Karen came in with Bill and two security officers. One of the officers started to step toward Chloe but Karen put out her hand on his chest and stopped him. "We have boots on the ground. The damage is done. Let's get our people back."

Chloe was aware that they were in the room but she ignored them. She was in The Zone. "There's a man aiming his weapon at the corner of the stack waiting for you. Bearing three zero zero, range twenty feet. If you move left and circle around you can enfilade him but hurry! She heard another burst of automatic weapons fire."

"We have the agents!" Lt. Cobb announced. "They both alive. The enemy is retreating."

"Let them go." Chloe said. The last thing they needed was a running gun battle through the city. "Take the agents directly to Balboa. The Mexican authorities will take control of the building." Once the Seal team and the two CTU agents were in the air she leaned back in the chair. They're alive, thank God they're alive. She raised her bloody hand up to remove the headset leaving streaks of blood in her blond hair and on her cheek. Then slowly stood up. Now that the crisis was over she could return to more mundane thoughts. Her hand hurt and was bleeding like a stuck pig. Her throat and mouth burned with stomach acids and the puke taste in her mouth was overwhelming. 'Oh no! The white silk blouse Mom gave me for Christmas!' She smelled horrible and didn't want anyone to see her like this but they were all staring at her. She stood up, pulled the hem of her puke and blood stained blouse down and tried to look as dignified as someone covered with vomit could possibly look.

"I guess I'm in trouble again."

Author's note: The next chapter will feature the mysterious mice and the crossover I promise.


	4. The Mice

**The Mice**

**Chloe and The Mice **

**Chapter 4**

Disclaimer: I don't own 24 or the beautiful, intelligent, loyal, patriotic, courageous, bitchy, and anti-social Chloe O'Brian. Wish I did.

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Chloe got to spend the night in hold cell 2. Her hand got three stitches in it last night. Now it was hot and throbbing with pain. She was also bored out of her mind. Just another crappy day in the crappy life of Chloe O'Brian.

Before lockup she had been permitted to take a shower and change into the CTU sweat suit from her gym locker. Curtis had gone to the drugstore and brought her a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a bottle of mouthwash for which she would be eternally grateful. Audrey even dropped her clothes off at the drycleaners to see if they could be salvaged. Now she was just cooling her heels for hours waiting for her highness to make an appearance.

She tried having daydreams but most of her daydreams were about Jack which only made her sad and depressed. She then tried to calculate the value of Pi in her head but that got boring so now she was just sitting there staring at the door.

Finally the door opened. Chloe stood up when Karen walked in and didn't sit down until she did. Karen's mouth was just a tight line and she didn't look happy. She set her briefcase on the table and sat down.

"How are they?" Chloe asked.

"Body casts, serious but stable condition. I suppose we have you to thank for that."

"Damned straight!"

"Chloe, you're facing some pretty serious charges. Forging an official government document, Impersonating a government official, namely me, and what the hell, let's toss in vandalism not to mention ordering the unauthorized military invasion of a friendly country."

"It wasn't an invasion, it was just a raid," Chloe said sourly. "It's not like we're going to keep Tijuana."

"OK then, a raid. How long have you had my authorization codes?"

"Since the day you got here but this is the first time I've used them I swear!"

Karen shut her eyes and drummed her fingers on the table. "Chloe, with all these charges you're facing a long, long time in prison. I hope you think it's worth it."

"We got them back alive so it's worth it."

"They could both still die. Would it be worth it then?"

"Then they'll die knowing we didn't abandon them so yes."

Karen sighed. "There are other considerations. I'm not sure you thought this through. Did you really think no one would notice a helicopter with United States Navy painted on the side flying low over a major city in broad daylight. Then landing and discharging armed troops who then start shooting people and blowing things up?"

Chloe crossed her arms defensively, "Of course they'd notice. I just didn't care. Mexico isn't going to declare war on the U.S. just because a bunch of sailors shot up a warehouse! So I ruffled a feathers in Washington and Mexico City. Embarrassed a few politicians. There will be angry speeches, apologies, finger jabbing. Maybe the U.N. might bitch about it for a while and do you know what's going to happen then? They'll get over it. They'll move on. The people who hate America will find other reasons to hate us. The Mexicans are our friends and will stay that way. We'll probably offer me up as a sacrifice and I accept that. Then everyone will get on with our lives. Meanwhile we got our agents back and that's the most important thing.

"Well the President is trying to work something out with the Mexican government. Meanwhile the Mexicans have seized the warehouse and the container."

"Did they catch anyone?"

"No, there were eight bodies in the building. Five were Mexicans and three men of unknown Middle Eastern origin."

"What about the Irishman?" Chloe asked.

"What Irishman?"

Chloe's fists clenched. It made her right hand hurt even more but she didn't care. The pain moved up her arm past her elbow and into her shoulder but she kept them clenched. He got away. That evil son of a bitch got away. She could still hear his taunting laughter.

". . .thorized distribution of classified materials. Chloe, Chloe! Aren't you paying attention?!"

"No."

"Well it's about time you did! I'm talking about this!" Karen said pointing at the newspaper on the desk.

Chloe looked down at the paper, 'How did that get there?' she thought. There was a large headline: Tijuana Terrorist Treasure Trove. Who writes these things? Then another headline: Senator Bell Accused of Terrorist Ties.

"Chloe, how could you do this when you promised you wouldn't?"

"I didn't!"

"You, me, and Bill were the only ones who knew about this. You had an opportunity. And everyone knows you have an ax to grind!" Karen threw Chloe's words back at her.

"I would never leak classified information!"

"Well I know you wanted to!"

Chloe tried to keep her voice down. "I don't do everything I want to. That's why your nose isn't bleeding right now. And I didn't do this!"

For a long moment the two women glared at each other.

"So Chloe, are you saying that you're not responsible for this?"

"Yes, I am responsible. If one of my analysts did this then I'm responsible for their actions."

"But you still deny doing it yourself."

"Hell yes!"

Karen tried to look sympathetic. "I understand that you've been through a lot recently. You were captured and tortured yourself. I'm sure it must have affected you. You weren't able to think rationally."

"That's not what happened. I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Chloe, I'm just trying to help you. I think it's good that you care so much for your fellow agents. I'm going to release you on your own recognizance pending a full investigation."

Chloe looked down at her lap. "Thank you."

"And a change of scenery would do you good. I've just spoken to Juliet Shaw over at MI-5 and they've expressed an interest in your new facial recognition program. I'm sending you to London to give it to them."

"I'll FedEx it to them."

"They need you to show them how to install and use it."

"I'll send an instruction manual. I don't have time to go to England."

"I'm sorry, for some reason you seem to think this is a request. And since you've been relieved of all duties here I would think you have plenty of time."

Chloe scowled. "You can't do that. I've got too much to do here."

"Like find Jack? There haven't been any new leads in two weeks. We think the Chinese took him. We don't know, we just think. We don't even know if he's still alive."

"If he was dead, I'd know about it." Chloe said stubbornly.

"He doesn't love you Chloe." Karen saw immediately that was the wrong thing to say.

Chloe's eyes flared with anger. "Do you think that's all this is?! A silly schoolgirl crush?! I would do the same for any one of our agents! Even you! Leave no one behind! Around here that's not just a slogan! It's a religion! We have to stand up for each other because no one else will!"

Karen pressed her fingertips together. "Very well, let me sweeten the deal. We're stretched pretty thin. If Jack is in China he's the only CTU agent in the whole country. The CIA doesn't have very many assets there either. The British however have a network and contacts that we don't even know about. They've been funneling people through Hong Kong for years. Perhaps you could make some contacts."

"That's MI-6," Chloe said exasperated. "You're sending me to MI-5. That's purely domestic."

"You'll have to make your own contacts." Karen said. "I know how good you are at making new friends." She added sarcastically. "But if you can't go I understand. You've been through so much already. I will arrange an appointment for a full psychological evaluation tomorrow."

"All right! I'll go!"

"Very well, your plane leaves tonight so you'd better get ready. It's a long flight. Better bring a good book. I recommend Moby Dick. It's about what happens to people who chase their self destructive obsessions."

Chloe left the holding cell and walked down the hall. Agent Mueller was leaning against the wall. "For what it's worth Chloe, I think you did the right thing."

"Thanks Peter, but if you're expecting a hug, forget about it." She walked on past him and didn't see the wry smile he gave her back.

In the common room a lot of the staff were gathered around the large TV tuned permanently to Fox News watching Senator Bell's press conference.

"It is no coincidence that these false and spurious charges were made the same day that CTU is trying to deflect attention from their botched and illegal military attack on Mexico which resulted in the deaths of eight civilians." Chloe snorted. Apparently in Bell's world anyone wearing civilian clothes is a civilian. "And two Mexican police officers."

"Those police officers were killed by a booby trap left by the so called 'civilians'! Shari protested. "We had nothing to do with that."

Senator Bell went on. "Ever since CTU was started in 1993, terrorist attacks on out nation have only increased in number and severity. It's the heavy handed tactics of CTU and other agencies, their complete disregard for constitutional rights and international agreements, that have fed hatred for America around the world and encouraged the very terrorist attacks they were created to prevent. I promise a full investigation into their activities and will press charges for any criminal acts we uncover. . ."

"So, how'd it go?" Shari asked Chloe.

"Better than I expected. Karen's shipping me off to London to play with the mice while they try to clean up my mess. I think she just wants me out of the country. If I'm on assignment overseas they can't question me or ask where I am."

"The mice?"

"British Intelligence, MI-5, MI-6, over here we call them the mice but don't ever let them hear you say that!"

"But Chloe! You did the right thing. You rescued our agents."

"Yeah, but I also embarrassed a lot of politicians. She's also blaming me for leaking the Bell story." Chloe noticed Shari biting her lower lip. She seemed pretty nervous. "Shari, what is it?"

"Not here," Shari whispered. She led Chloe away from the crowd to the wall. Chloe noticed they were standing under an empty hook where a commendation was hanging yesterday. "I leaked the story about Bell, I didn't know you'd get blamed for it. I'm so sorry."

Chloe's eyes narrowed in anger. "Why would you leak classified information?" She whispered. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I didn't want Bell to become President. He'd be a disaster."

Shari saw someone approaching and both women clammed up. Chloe turned and saw it was Patrick. Ever since the Reich Reborn incident he actually thought he had a shot with Shari, the poor delusional dope.

"Hi Shari. Hi Chloe, watcha talking about?"

"Nothing you're cleared for." Chloe replied tartly. "Go away!"

"OK!" He said good naturally. He gave Shari a smile and walked on.

They waited until he got a safe distance then Shari whispered, "You're not going to report me are you?"

Chloe scowled at her. "I should but I won't. I'm in such deep shit now that a few more bucketfuls won't make much of a difference. But if I hear about you doing anything like this again I'm nailing your butt to the wall. The only ones allowed to release information are Karen Hayes, the Secretary of Homeland Defense, or whoever happens to be President this week. We're not the damned CIA and we don't leak information to the press."

"I won't do it again Chloe, I'm so sorry."

Chloe had to go home to pack her suitcase and change but was back at CTU in half an hour. Karen was waiting for her. "Her are your tickets. You'll be met at Heathrow by their technical expert, Collin Wells."

Chloe looked at the photo, bald, glasses, looked kind of geeky. "All the necessary hardware and software are in this briefcase which will be cuffed to your wrist. They have a key over at MI-5. This way no one will be able to steal them."

"Unless they hack off my hand."

"If they do we'll glue it back on. You won't be needing a weapon. The British don't like American agents bringing guns into their country and there's no need to irritate them any more than necessary."

"OK, sure."

Chloe went down to the armory and checked out a Beretta automatic pistol and a hundred rounds of ammunition. She then went to the indoor firing range and began shooting a paper target. Chloe was only an average shot. She had shot people but only at close range. With every shot the gun's recoil sent a jolt of pain into her injured hand and down her arm but she didn't care. 'Shipping me off to England.' (KPOW!) 'Don't have time.' (KPOW!) 'Jack needs me.' (KPOW!) 'Have to find him.' (KPOW!) 'Maybe Karen's right.' (KPOW!) 'Maybe the Brits can help.' (KPOW!) 'Could be God, fate or whatever wants me over there.' (KPOW!) 'That container was going to England.' (KPOW!) 'The man in the warehouse was Irish' (KPOW!) 'The good old fashioned Irish terrorist is a dying breed.' (KPOW!) 'But not quite extinct.' (KPOW!) 'There was enough stuff in there to start a war.' (KPOW!) 'Automatic weapons.' (KPOW!) 'Ammunition.' (KPOW!) 'Explosives.' (KPOW!) 'Stinger missiles to shoot down airliners.' (KPOW!) 'Those damned undetectable mines.' (KPOW!) 'Plant some of those in parks.'(KPOW!) 'Schoolyards.' (KPOW!) 'Throw the whole country into a panic.' (KPOW!) 'The marijuana?' (KPOW!) 'Guess they had some room left over.' (KPOW!) 'Is that the only container?' (KPOW!) 'Are there any others?' (KPOW!)

Chloe took the pistol to the cleaning area and slowly, carefully stripped, cleaned, and oiled it. She then slipped it into a shoulder holster which she put on under her shirt. Chloe didn't like guns and normally didn't carry one. She wasn't going to take one on this trip until Karen told her not to.

Chloe O'Brian was going to England and she didn't care who she pissed off.

Authors note: This is a crossover with MI-5 which is called Spooks over in Britain. MI-5/Spooks is owned by Kudos and the BBC. For my fellow Americans it is shown rarely at random and inconvenient times on A&E. Check you local listings. The MI-5 portion is based on the last season I saw which starts with Danny's funeral and ends with that crazy bitch shooting Adam. The 24 part takes place between seasons 5 & 6.


	5. Tim's House

**Tim's House**

**Chloe and The Mice **

**Chapter 5**

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Chloe was driven to the airport by Curtis. She already had the briefcase manacled to her left wrist. At the airport Curtis, ever the gentleman, carried her suitcase in for her and helped her check in while she filled out all the necessary forms to carry a firearm on the plane and bypass security.

"Have a safe trip Chloe," he told her. Be sure to call me sometime before you come back. If I mention my Aunt Jane then don't come back at all."

Chloe hesitated, then shut her eyes and gave a slight nod. Then she gave the handsome black agent an awkward hug and walked away. He kept watching her until she vanished from sight.

Chloe decided to buy a couple of books for the flight over. She went to the airport bookstore and ended up getting two romance novels. One was about a cowboy and the other about a pirate. From the covers she could tell they had a lot in common. They were both handsome muscular men and neither one was very fond of wearing shirts.

Chloe ended up in a window seat on the port side of the plane. She soon discovered that there's no good place to keep a large heavy briefcase chained to your arm. She finally just put it in her lap. Then a very large man sat in the seat next to her and conquered the armrest between them with a flabby arm.

"Hi! My name is George! I'm going to London!"

"Yeah, I hear the whole plane's going there."

Just then the stewardess came by. "Ma'am, you'll need to put that briefcase either in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you." Chloe held up her hand showing the cuff and chain. "OK, in that case you should hold it in your lap."

"Hold it in my lap. What a good idea! Oh wait! I'm already doing that!"

The stewardess gave Chloe a tight lipped smile and moved on.

George leaned over. "Whatcha got in the case?"

"My inflatable love doll, Herbert. I don't go anywhere without him."

George chuckled "No really, you can trust me. I used to be in the army."

Chloe leaned over. "Can you really keep a secret?"

"Yes," He whispered back.

"So can I." She then leaned back and pulled a book out of her bag at random, the shirtless cowboy. It was going to be a long flight.

Chloe got warm and tried to take her jacket off only to find she couldn't remove it with the briefcase chained to her arm. She just left it bunched up on her left wrist. When the steward came by with their supper Chloe discovered she couldn't lower the tray with the briefcase in her lap. She ended up propping it up on the armrest by the window. However while eating she brought her left hand down to cut her meat causing the briefcase to fall over knocking her orange juice into her food. Chloe grunted in frustration.

"You could try holding the briefcase between your legs and eating one handed." George offered.

"And you could try shutting your piehole and minding your own business." Chloe snapped. Somehow she discovered a way to make airplane food even worse but she went ahead and ate every bite out of pure stubbornness. Later when she went to the bathroom to use the toilet and freshen up she discovered both of these tasks were far easier when you weren't in a bathroom the size of a small closet with one hand stitched and bandaged and the other chained to a heavy briefcase. She was starting to really loathe the thing and considered pulling out her pistol and shooting through the chain but figured that probably violated some law somewhere. By the time the plane landed in Heathrow, Chloe was in a pretty pissy mood.

Collin Wells approached the customs area. He didn't know O'Brian personally, only by reputation. She was considered an expert on viruses and firewall protection. They had even exchanged a few e-mails in the past. Nothing personal, more along the lines of 'Joe Terrorist keeps calling this guy in Devon. Have your boys look into it.' type of thing.

He recognized her almost immediately from her photo. A slightly built woman in her thirties. Blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and her right hand was bandaged. Her passport wasn't the dark blue colour of most American passports but the deep burgundy of an official government passport. And at the moment she was in a quite animated argument with a customs official pointing at her I.D. then jabbing her finger at the man's chest. Eventually the poor harassed man gave up, stamped her passport and let her through. She walked slowly, clutching the briefcase to her chest with both arms. Frowning as she scanned the crowd. Eventually she locked eyes with him and walked over. His first impression was that she was beautiful, not in any glitzy, glamourous way, but with the quiet, understated beauty of a woman completely unaware that she's beautiful. In that way she was similar to Ruth. Colin smiled and held out his hand. "Colin Wells."

She released the briefcase long enough to shake it. "Chloe O'Brian, happy to be here." She did not look or sound happy to be here.

"So Chloe, we'll just collect your bags. Then I'll take you to Thames House."

"Tim's house? Who the hell is Tim?! I'm supposed to go to MI-5 headquarters and get this damned ball and chain off my arm!"

"Thames House is MI-5 headquarters and it's Thames like the river."

"Whatever."

As they walked to the baggage claim Colin said, "You seemed to have some trouble back there with the customs official."

"Yeah, he was pissed because I brought a gun."

"You don't really need a gun. Why did you bring it?"

"Because I wanted to piss off a customs official."

Colin allowed himself a slight smile. He had a feeling he was going to like this woman.

As Colin drove Chloe back to Thames House he tried to make small talk. "So, have you ever been to Britain before?"

"No."

"What do you think so far?"

"It's cold and rainy."

Colin smiled. "It might not be sunny California but you'll get used to it."

"I doubt it."

Colin kept glancing over at Chloe, for someone who's never been to London before she didn't seem much of a tourist ignoring the sights and landmarks to either stare sullenly straight ahead or glancing at the crowds suspiciously. "It's really nice of you to come all this way to install this program."

"Niceness has nothing to do with it. You could have put it in. They just wanted me out of the country."

"Why?"

"I saved some agents but I did it in a politically incorrect way. There's going to be an investigation. If I'm on assignment out of the country the investigators can't question me nor can they legally ask where I am. As far as they're concerned I'm crawling through the caves of Tora Bora with a knife in my teeth or skulking around the cocaine fields of Columbia instead of sipping tea in jolly old England."

As they pulled into a parking spot at Thames House Chloe said "Pop open the trunk, I'll need my laptop."

Colin popped the boot open and Chloe opened her suitcase and retrieved the laptop from it. Colin whistled. "That's a CTU Model 4 isn't it?"

"Yeah, they just came out with it a few months ago. I helped design it. There's only a few minor bugs that we're working out. . ." The two of them continued their geek speak all the way to the security desk where Chloe surrendered her weapon and got a visitor's badge then it continued to the elevators.

Leaving the elevator Chloe looked around curiously. Thames House seemed much nicer than what she was used to. The architect at CTU-LA evidently thought that harsh lighting and bare concrete walls made a cheery work environment.

An attractive middle-aged woman approached them. "Hello, I'm Juliet Shaw and you must be Chloe O'Brian."

"Must be."

"If there's anything we can do to make you feel welcome just let me know."

"Yeah! Get this damned thing off my wrist!"

"Yes, of course."

It took seventeen long minutes and twenty long seconds to find the key to the cuff. Chloe knew this because she was staring at the clock the whole time. As she was rubbing her wrist another woman showed up.

"Good morning Ruth," Colin greeted her. "When's Harry coming back?"

"He's due back this afternoon." Ruth Evershed looked at Chloe with intelligent grey eyes. "Harry Pearce is the director here. He's spent the last week on holiday in the Caribbean."

"Where? Bermuda?"

"Guantanamo Bay."

"Oh yeah, I hear they have a nice golf course out there. Well I'd better get started." Chloe never felt comfortable with idle chit chat, especially with strangers.

Colin led her to the tech room and introduced her to their senior analyst Malcolm Wynn-Jones. Chloe shook hands with her counterpart then knelt down and immediately began unscrewing a panel off the computer. At last she was comfortable. She was in her element.

"So what makes this facial recognition program so special? Malcolm asked.

"Facial recognition programs measure different parts of the face; eyes, nose, ears, cheekbones, chin, that sort of thing. Some people find ways to fool it." Chloe explained. "Cotton balls in the cheeks are a quick way to change the shape of the face. Small springs in the nostrils to temporarily widen them. Tape back the ears. My program figures in those variations into the baseline of the face to compensate. It also uses infrared scanning lasers for sunglasses.

"Yes," Colin remarked. "Because sunglasses hide the eyes so you can't get their locations for a facial scan."

"The infrared scanning lasers penetrate the sunglasses and pick up the eyes because they reflect differently than skin. The subject doesn't even know he's being scanned. Hope you have better luck than we did getting airports the buy these things though. They're pretty expensive."

"We've been working on an infrared scanner ourselves. I've got one right here."

Chloe checked out the device Colin brought her then checked the specifications. "Yours is better than mine. Power hungry and more expensive but much, much better. I'll have to incorporate it. Just need to rewrite the program a bit."

"So!" Malcolm asked. "Do you have any other suprises?"

"Yeah, it's also programmed to pick up on body language. Someone with a concealed weapon sometimes acts different from normal. They might also touch the weapon to reassure themselves. And someone with a suicide bomb vest is usually scared and excited. Their heart is pounding. They might move differently. My program picks up on that and alerts a human to check closer. It doesn't work all the time but it helps."

Colin grinned. "So, you know a lot about reading body language?"

"I don't know Jack Squat about body language! We got a bunch of professors and psychologists to do all the hard stuff. All I did was the easy part and program it."

Harry stepped off the lift and back into The Grid. It felt good to be back home again. It wasn't until he saw Ruth that he realised how much he missed her.

"Hello Harry, how was your Cuban holiday?"

"It wasn't a holiday!" He replied with a slight note of irritation. "Some of those gentlemen incarcerated there are technically British subjects and regardless of how dubious their loyalties might be or how richly they might deserve all the bad things that happen to them we do have to look in on them from time to time."

"You did pick up a bit of colour."

"I didn't spend the whole week indoors."

"Yes, I hear they have a nice golf course out there."

Ruth smiled when she saw a bit more colour in Harry's face. "A lot of important business gets done on golf courses."

"Yes of course."

"Anything new around here?"

"It's been pretty quiet. The computer will be down for another hour. They're installing some new equipment."

"Thank you Ruth." Harry strolled to the tech room to check up on things. He saw Colin and Malcolm along with a blond woman he'd never seen before wearing a visitor's badge. They had the computer open and were speaking in a language that was technically English although he didn't understand half of it. The blond woman was peering inside the computer with a small torch.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

Chloe set down her flashlight. "Chloe O'Brian from CTU installing a new system." The accent was definatley American. Not a northeastern twang or a southern drawl, probably western or Midwestern.

"You came all the way out here just to install a new system?"

"You asked me to come here!"

"I didn't ask you to come here!"

"Not you personally, but you MI-5!"

Harry stepped back into The Grid. "Can somebody please tell me why the bloody hell we have a Yank mucking around our computer system?!"

A feminine voice behind him stated, "I'm not a Yank! Yankees live in the northeastern part of the U.S. I'm from southern California which is the southwest corner therefore I'm not a Yank!"

"Well excuuuuse me! Can somebody please tell me why the bloody hell we have a smart alecky know-it-all Yank mucking around in our computer system?!"

Ruth approached him. "Juliet authorised it in your absence. She's quite keen on this new system."

"Juliet! I should have known. Has anyone else noticed that she's wearing a shoulder holster under her shirt?"

"Yes." Ruth stated. "She checked her weapon in at the security desk."

"She's a computer technician. Why's she carrying a pistol?"

"She's an American," Jo said. "Don't they all carry pistols?"

"No, just most of them." Zafar grinned.

"And Harry! You should be ashamed! A new girl shows up and the first thing you do is look under her shirt!" Ruth added.

Harry glared at the three of them. It was evident that he wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Ruth, come to my office."

Harry had long since discovered that Ruth had a calming influence on him when he was agitated. He always felt better when she was around. It wasn't just her looks that attracted him. He had met scores of women much more attractive than Ruth who left him unmoved. It was just that Ruth was one of the most intelligent people he had ever met. He was also attracted by her solid loyalty, calm wisdom, and quiet patriotism. She was someone he could trust completely.

"Has the woman gone mad?!" He paced his office. "We don't even know this O'Brian woman and Juliet gives her full access to our most secure files! Doesn't security mean anything to her?!"

"I'm sure she thought it was for the best." Ruth replied. "She does think we should cooperate with the Americans much more closely."

"We let the Americans know what they need to know and they do the same for us. Once a secret is shared it is halved. The chance for a leak doubles. Juliet just gave away the key to the candy store and what do we get in return? A program the Americans were going to give to us anyway!" Harry picked up his secure phone and dialed a number. "This is Harry Pearce, give me your complete file on an American CTU agent named Chloe O'Brian."

Author's note: I am going to try to use British words and spelling with British characters and American words and spelling with Americans (As Chloe pointed out not all of us like being called Yanks). So while Chloe might see things in color, Harry might see them in colour. And while Chloe might get kidnapped by terrorists and stuffed into a car trunk. Ruth would end up stuffed into a car's boot. I will screw up several times because I'm not that familiar with British English. My two trips to Britain were very short and twenty years apart. And as an Oklahoman some people might say I don't speak American English very well either.


	6. Terrorist Appreciation Day

**Terrorist Appreciation Day**

**Chloe and The Mice **

**Chapter 6**

Disclaimer: 24 is owned by Fox. MI-5/Spooks is owned by Kudos and The BBC. There are a few continuity problems between the two shows. In 24 the president is Hal Gardner while in MI-5 it is our own beloved George W. Bush. I set this story in the 24 universe.

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Harry opened the O'Brian file and flipped through it. It was sketchy in some places and very incomplete. A few years ago the main computer database at the MI-6 office in Los Angeles was destroyed by a bomb and they had to start from scratch rebuilding it. And files on bad guys took precedence over files on good guys. There was a head shot of O'Brian. She looked as if taking her picture was a waste of time and she had much better things to do. She graduated from the University of California, Davis Campus with a degree in Computer Science. Joined CTU after graduation working at CTU-DC before transferring to CTU-LA. Good Lord, CTU-LA had a horrible casualty rate. She must have shell shock if nothing else. Considered brilliant in her field and one of the world's leading experts on viruses and computer firewalls but also considered to insubordinate and a disciplinary problem. Rumored to have been arrested at least three times and fired at least once. It was speculated that she had Asperger's disorder, a form of autism characterized by increased intelligence and concentration but with decreased social skills and ability to connect with other people. She also showed signs of passive aggressive behavior with sullenness, sarcasm, resisting suggestions from others and resenting having to do work she considered beneath her. He held up one sheet. "It would seem that Chloe already has a connection with MI-5, she's Morris O'Brian's ex-wife."

"Morris O'Brian!" Ruth exclaimed "The communications technician? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. He left under a cloud didn't he?"

"He was accused of selling our codes to the Iraqi government. The evidence was purely circumstantial and supported by the dubious testimony of a captured enemy agent. We had to let him go for security reasons. O'Brian always maintained his innocence but didn't seem too upset over being sacked. By the time we found the real traitor he'd already emigrated to America."

"Where he met the charming young lady in the Tech Room."

"Yes, after we cleared him he went to work for CTU for a few years. He and Chloe were married for about seven months. Evidently he decided that Al Bundy was living the life he could only dream of so he quit to become a women's shoe salesman."

"You're kidding!" Ruth laughed.

"No! Morris O'Brian is presently selling shoes in Beverly Hills!"

"Well, maybe he's found happiness. One seldom finds happiness in this line of work."

Harry just grunted in response. "So what we ended up with is a woman with psychological problems and poor discipline given access to our most secure files. Thank you very much Juliet! I guess she just got lonely and wanted another crazy woman to talk to!"

Ruth looked thoughtful. "The Americans must think highly of her abilities. They've kept her on all these years and given her a position of authority."

"Just because she's loyal to the Americans doesn't mean she's loyal to us. And allies or not we've had some problems with American intelligence in the past. I think we'd better keep a close eye on Agent O'Brian.

"So Chloe, are you coming to the ball tomorrow night?" Colin asked. "It's the fifth of November."

Chloe gave him a blank look. "So?"

"Guy Fawkes Day!"

"Oh, Guy Fawkes Day! Tell me, why the hell do you celebrate Guy Fawkes Day!? He was a gawd damned terrorist! That would be like Americans getting together every year and having a big party on Timothy McVeigh Day! It's nuts!"

Colin pondered, "I suppose it's because Guy was a failure. His plot was foiled with no harm to anyone but him and his coconspirators. This lets us think of him as figure of fun instead of horror. I guess if the bomb had gone off we would think of him differently. Anyway the local intelligence community hold a grand ball every year and I really think you should come."

"I didn't pack any party dresses."

"Go talk to Jo Portman, she's about your size. I'm sure she could fix you up. Besides, you have to meet Guy!" I've been working on him for the past month."

Chloe hated parties. She hated crowds, loud music, dancing, and idle chit chat. She also hated uncomfortable dresses and horrible high heeled shoes that hurt her feet. Most of all she hated celebrating a terrorist no matter how big a failure he might have been. But Colin mentioned that members of MI-6 would be there. Karen said she had to make her own contacts and this might be her only chance. It was a slim shot at best. Chloe wasn't much of a diplomat. The only things she was good at were computers and pissing people off but she had to do this for Jack. She would wear an uncomfortable dress, horrible shoes, and more make-up than she liked wearing. She would smile, nod her head, laugh at unfunny jokes, and pretend she's having fun celebrating a really dumb holiday. She would meet members of MI-6 and try not to piss them off. She would do it for Jack.

"OK, I'll go."

Colin introduced Chloe to Jo Portman. Jo was an attractive young blond woman.

Jo smiled at Chloe. "Hello Chloe, are you enjoying your stay here?"

"No, I need to borrow a dress for the big Terrorist Appreciation Day ball you're having tomorrow night. Collin said you could fix me up."

Jo's smile faded to a quick expression of confusion. "Yes, I'm supposed to give you the keys to the car you'll be using here and show you the safe house where you'll be staying. Just follow me home and I'll see what I can get you."

As Chloe, clutching her laptop to her chest, walked out with Jo she noticed Harry Pearce scowling at her. She scowled right back at him then proceeded to the security desk to turn in her visitor's badge and retrieve her pistol. They went to the parking area where she transferred her suitcase to the car assigned to her, a blue Ford two door. Then she followed Agent Portman out. It was like driving in Bizarro World. Driving on the left side of the road with right handed steering but she soon adjusted and made it to Jo Portman's townhouse.

Jo lived in a small townhouse typical of London. Inside it was warm and cozy. Chloe saw no sign that a man or any children lived there. "Just make yourself comfortable." Jo told her. "I'll make us some tea."

Chloe sat down on the couch. On the coffee table in front of her was a large open scrapbook which she leafed through. It was full of newspaper articles that seemed to have nothing in common until she noticed that they all had the byline, Jo Portman. Immediately her guard went up. Chloe regarded reporters as one of her natural enemies along with terrorists and mental health professionals. All too often a reporter would wreck an operation with no regard for the consequences or who might get killed.

When Jo brought the tea in she noticed that Chloe seemed rather stiff and wary. Perhaps the tea would help her relax.

"So Chloe, are you planning to visit any museums or see any of the sights here in London?"

"No."

"You must have some young man back home that you miss."

"No."

"Well there are several great guys at the Grid. Adam Carter's nice but he's still hurting. His wife was killed in the line of duty a few weeks ago leaving him to raise his son by himself. There's also Zafar, he's pretty cute. And I think Colin likes you."

"Look Jo, you're really nice but I don't do the whole girl talk thing. Hair, make-up, cute boys, that whole bit where we paint each other's toenails. I'm just not into it, never have been. So can we just see if you have a dress I can borrow?"

"Very well, let's see what we have that might fit."

Jo took Chloe to her bedroom and pulled several dresses out of her closet. She held one in front of herself. "I'm wearing this blue and silver one. What do you think?"

"Very nice, very shiny."

"Which one do you like?"

"I'll try the green one."

"The green one's kind of stodgy. Try this red one. You'll really stand out."

"I don't want to stand out. I'll try the green one."

The green dress was tight in some places and loose in others but it fit well enough. It was a bit old fashioned but Chloe didn't want attract a lot of attention. She preferred to blend in with the crowd. "This will work out fine. I'll have it dry cleaned before I return it."

The green shoes that went with the dress were too small so Chloe decided to just wear her black pumps with the one and a half in heels. She knew a little secret that a lot of women didn't. Most guys don't care what kind of shoes you have on. Morris might, but most of them don't. They usually have something else in mind so anything presentable would do.

"Thanks for the dress. Now lets look at my lodgings"

The house Jo took her to was part of a row of identical looking houses. It was a safe house that MI-5 used occasionally. The furniture had a thin layer of dust indicating that it hadn't been used in at least a month. She checked the kitchen and found some catsup, mustard, and an old box of pancake mix. Probably have to hit the grocery store later but too tired now. Chloe went upstairs, lay on the bed, and wondered if she could ever go home again.

The next morning Harry Pearce arrived at The Grid bright and early. He sat behind his desk thumbing through reports. The affair with the Mnemosyne Trading and Export Co. in Mexico had set off alarm bells with MI-5 and 6. Juliet Shaw had gotten a court order to freeze all assets of the company in the UK. She was efficient if nothing else. The UK branch were all protesting their innocence but they were all under investigation anyway. He checked other reports of happenings around the world then punched his intercom.

"Juliet, please come to my office."

When Juliet came in Harry told her, "Go ahead, have a seat." She quickly complied. Harry was not an imposing man. He was a middle aged man of average height with thinning blond hair and just starting to get a little plump around the waist. Never the less he did command respect. "I would like you to tell me exactly why we need Agent O'Brian here."

Juliet gave Harry a steady stare. There was mutual respect between them. That didn't mean they liked each other. "Karen Hayes, the regional director of their Department of Homeland Security called me. She is presently in charge of CTU-LA and asked if Agent O'Brian could come over here for a few days. Malcolm and Colin were both keen on this new program and a chance to have the program's creator here was too good to pass up. Besides, Hayes said she would take it as a personal favour.

"A favour?"

"Yes, we do the Americans a favour, they do us a favour. It's how it works out."

"I know how it works out. Did it ever occur to you to wonder why they wanted her out of town so suddenly?"

"What do you mean Harry?"

"Someone leaked classified information to the press a day before Ms. O'Brian suddenly had to leave town. It concerned a Senator Daniel Bell. From what I've read the man is a complete jackass but it makes Chloe O'Brian a security risk."

"I wasn't aware of that."

"And as for the favour that Karen Hayes owes you, you'd better collect it quickly. CTU directors in Los Angeles have pretty short life spans. Lets see…" Harry picked up a paper. "Executed by his own agent, car bomb, poison gas. Oh look! Here's one killed by an atomic bomb! Yes you'd better collect quickly."

Malcolm was studying the specifications for the body language portion of the program while Colin was tinkering with the IR scanner. Neither one of them noticed Harry until he spoke to them.

"Has Agent O'Brian come in yet?"

Malcolm looked up. "No, she's running a bit late this morning."

"Just as well, What do you think of her?"

"She's very clever," Colin offered. "And a dab hand with the computer."

"Not very friendly though." Malcolm added.

"Well I like her. She might be a little impolite but her heart's in the right place. And she's showed us a few tricks we never thought of."

"And we showed her a few tricks too." Malcolm noticed Harry's lips tighten. "Nothing classified of course."

"Well when she comes in I want one of you watching her at all times. The only time she's to be alone is in the ladies room. Understand?"

They both nodded.

Chloe finally blew in about forty minutes late. London was confusing and the streets had a habit of changing their names every few blocks. She quickly checked her gun in and got a visitor's pass. Harry was there to meet her when she got off the elevator. "Agent O'Brian, may I have a word with you in private?"

"Yes sir! Sorry I'm so late! The streets were. . ."

"Never mind that. Just come to my office."

In his office she stood there quietly with her arms crossed staring steadily at him, apparently she wasn't afraid of him which he liked. Harry demanded respect from his agents but any of them who were afraid of him were useless in the field and were quickly gotten rid of. "Chloe, have you been looking through our files?"

"No!"

"Are you sure? You've had many opportunities."

"I'm your guest! That would be worse than those people who visit your apartment and look through your medicine cabinet! They say they just have to use the bathroom but you know they looked through your medicine cabinet because the next time you open it everything's been moved around! I wouldn't do that! Besides, classified information is distributed on a need to know basis and there's nothing in your files I need to know!"

"Well we can't be too careful. Especially since you leaked that information about Senator Bell to the press."

"I did not!"

"Do you know who did?" He saw Chloe's mouth open then clam up. "If you know you can go ahead and tell me. I promise it won't leave this room."

"That's need to know. You don't need to know the inner workings of CTU anymore than I need to know what's in your files."

Harry had his back to Chloe so she didn't see the faint almost smile that briefly twitched his lips. "Very well Chloe, you're dismissed. Go to the tech room. I'm sure they're waiting for you."

A handsome dark haired agent greeted Chloe on the way to the Tech room. "Hello, Adam Carter, you must be Chloe O'Brian."

"Yes I am." Chloe remembered what Jo told her. Adam's wife was recently killed leaving him single father. He was so much like Jack. Her heart ached for him. Maybe a few words of condolence. "I heard about your wife being killed, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you."

"I guess it's good that she died in the line of duty. I mean that's much better than dying in a hospital with tubes up your nose."

"I beg your pardon!"

"It's just that if you're killed in the line of duty your death has more meaning than if your wife were just run over by a bus because then her death wouldn't mean anything." 'Wow,' Chloe thought, 'That sure came out stupid!'

"I say! You've got a lot of cheek talking to me that way!"

"I'm sorry. I'm just kind of blunt and say things without thinking. Maybe we should just go our separate ways and start over again later."

"Let's do that!" Adam turned on his heel and walked away.

'Well that certainly went well.' Chloe thought. 'I wonder if there's anyone here who doesn't hate me yet.' She walked into the Tech room were Colin smiled and waved at her.


	7. The Mice's Ball

**The Mice's Ball**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 7**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Who's that? Chloe asked glancing at the man on Malcolm's screen.

"Prince Aasid, he's meeting with the Prime Minister this afternoon. The Prince is in charge of his country's intelligence services."

"I know what his job is! I just didn't know what he looked like. Prince Aasid gave Al Quada 2.4 million dollars over the past 18 months."

"That doesn't make any sense! Al Quada has sworn to over throw the entire ruling family including the prince. Do you have any proof?"

"Not here, and I can't tell you my source. I don't know his motivations. But it is a fact that he gave the money."

Malcolm scratched his head, "You'd better tell Harry."

"No you tell him. Harry doesn't trust me. He might not believe me. He trusts you. Just don't tell him it came from me. And ask him not to do anything that might tip our hand. I don't want to compromise the source."

Malcolm sighed. "Very well," he got up and went to Harry's office.

Harry paced his office. "Why would Prince Aasid give so much money?"

"I don't know." Malcolm replied. "He might be a true believer or it's possible he's afraid of them and paying extortion or blackmail. In any case we shouldn't trust him."

"Is your source reliable?"

"I trust it."

"It's not the Americans is it? Some of their information has been rather dodgy."

"I'd rather not say."

Harry stroked his chin. "I don't think there's any physical threat to the Prime Minister. Prince Aasid prefers to let others do his dirty work for him. I'll tell him to go ahead and meet with the Prince. Talk to him, shake hands, pose for pictures, but not to trust him. Never trust him."

"Very well sir." Malcolm left the office. Harry watched him walk over to where Chloe O'Brian was waiting. He had an idea about where Malcolm got his information.

After a long dreary day working on the program Chloe was exhausted. She wished she could just get back to the safe house and relax. But Noooo! She had to get ready to go to the stupid Guy Fawkes Day Ball. She also had to drive Colin and Guy there because her trunk was bigger than his. After a long soak in the tub Chloe got ready. She put on the green dress. It wasn't quite as stodgy as Jo had said. A bit more make up than she preferred but she didn't go overboard. Then she put her blond hair up in a bun. She wore the same earings and necklace she'd worn since the day she sent the SEALS into Mexico. She didn't pack any jewelry for the trip and didn't really care enough to buy more.

Colin was waiting on the curb in front of his apartment building when Chloe pulled up. His tuxedo fit well over his tall frame and he had a very large canvas bag next to him. Chloe got out and helped him lift the awkward load into the trunk. "Don't worry, Guy won't be needing a ride home." Colin grinned.

Chloe's stomach growled. "There just better be food there!"

Colin directed Chloe to drive out of the city and into the country. The ball was being held at a big house in the country. Chloe was impressed by its size. It must be owned by a duke or count or some other kind of big shot. At the gate a guard checked their IDs and recorded their license plate. With this many spooks, security had to be tight. Out in front was a big pile of wood for the bonfire. Chloe parked her car around to the side and Colin got out, offered her his arm, and escorted her in leaving poor Guy to wait in the boot.

The inside of the house was just as impressive as the outside. In the two story high foyer a life sized bronze statue of Athena stood on a large marble pedistal flanked by a double staircase. At least Chloe assumed it was Athena. She couldn't think of any other Greek chicks with a helmet and spear.

A butler directed them to the left through a set of large double doors into the ballroom. The ballroom was magnificent. Lit by two large chandeliers it was already crowded with people. A D.J. had set up on the far side in a corner. Chloe had half expected a string orchastra but she figured there were limits to how much a government bureaucracy would pay for a party. The ballroom had wood paneled walls darkened with age. One wall had tall windows going clear up to the ceiling. The floor was wood, worn and polished by the feet of two centuries of dancers. The wall opposite the windows was lined with tables covered with food.

Chloe's stomach growled again and she released Colin's arm and made a beeline for it. Under the white tablecloths she noticed metal folding tables. That along with the D.J. kind of lessened the elegance but she was mainly interested in the food; sliced fruit, Swedish meatballs, little sandwiches, roast beef, OOOOH! Shrimp! She quickly began loading a plate up.

Adam Carter escorted the lovely Jo Portman into the ballroom. He spotted a couple of his old friends from his MI-6 days. He then noticed O'Brian standing alone near the D.J. finishing off a plate of food. Adam wasn't angry with her anymore. She might be awkward and insensitive but not too bad. A mischievous smile crossed his face and he sidled over to the D.J. behind Chloe and whispered a few words in his ear.

Chloe just took a big bite of roast beef. Ewww yuck! A big chunk of gristle. She was just about to go to the table to get a napkin to spit it out in.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The D.J. announced. "We have a special guest with us tonight! Chloe from California!" A spotlight suddenly lit up Chloe, her eyes wide open and her cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk's The whole room cheered and applauded as the speakers began playing "California Girls" by the Beach Boys. Chloe ears turned pink with embarrassment and she tried to move to one side but the spotlight followed her. She couldn't say anything with a mouth full of gristle that she could neither swallow or spit out. She tried to move into the crowd and disappear but they parted like the Red Sea and the damned spotlight kept following her. She finally made it out the double doors into the foyer. Then past the stairway into a hallway where a small paper card labeled W.C. was taped to a door. She vaguely remembered W.C. meant restroom though she didn't know what the initials stood for. Chloe opened the door and spit the gristle into the toilet. She was furious at Adam for pulling that stunt on her.

"I'm going to have to kill him." She muttered under her breath. "That's what I'm going to have to do."

But then reason took over. Adam was a former member of MI-6. He had friends, connnections, that she could use to find Jack. She'll just have to kill him some other time.

Harry and Ruth were just entering the ballroom when Chloe brushed past them. "What the devil is wrong with that woman?" He asked Ruth.

Ruth looked around the room. "She's probably embarrassed. I'll go talk to her." She left Harry and followed Chloe into the hallway.

When Chloe left the bathroom she found Ruth waiting for her. "Chloe, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just don't like crowds or loud music."

"I understand. You don't have to go back if you don't want to."

"No, you don't understand. I have to go back." Chloe squared her shoulders and marched back to the ballroom.

At least now she was no longer the center of attention. Chloe moved through the crowd wondering who to approach. A lot of the people she saw looked familiar which meant MI-5. She spotted an unfamiliar looking man staring out one of the tall windows. He had a dangerous look about him that pretty much screamed 'field agent.' She decided to approach him. "Hello I'm . . ."

"Chloe from California," he interjected. "Pleased to meet you Chloe. I'm Scott Jensen."

Not one to mince words Chloe decided to get to the point. "I need some help locating an American agent being held by the Chinese."

Scott made a tight smile. "The Chinese? I believe I can help you, but not here. We need to speak privately." She followed him through a doorway into a hallway. He opened a door, looked inside, then held it open for her.

It was a billiard room with a very large, very old billiards table dominating the room. Over the fireplace was the stuffed head of an African lion that must have been at least a century old. On another wall was a portrait of a man in 17th century dress who resembled Jerry Lewis with long red hair and a goatee. Agent Jensen leaned against the table. "So Chloe, who's this agent you're looking for?"

"His name is Jack Bauer, CTU. He was captured about a month ago. I need to get in touch with some contacts in China who might know where he might be."

"You must really care about this man. A lover?"

"No, just a friend." Chloe leaned against the table next to him.

"I can help you but what can you offer me?"

Chloe suppressed her anger. A man's life was at stake and this bastard wants to bargain? She took a deep breath. Mentioning this even to an ally without authorization could get her in serious trouble. "I have a weaponized worm virus that can destroy the firewalls of any computer by remote control. All you need to activate it is . . ."

Scott didn't look the least bit interested. He suddenly turned and pinned Chloe against the table. His face leered inches from hers. "I think you can do much, much, better than that Chloe." He leaned in to kiss her but she turned her head so he only got her cheek.

Chloe squirmed trying to get away but Scott was too strong for her. "Let go of me you asshole!"

"Come on now Chloe! If you really want me to help find your friend you've got to do something nice for me!" Scott's right hand reached out and squeezed Chloe's left breast, gently.

Chloe's right hand reached out and squeezed Scott's testicles, not gently at all.

Scott howled and bent over. Both hands went to his crotch leaving him open to Chloe's left hook to his nose. Blood spattered across his face and white shirt.

"You fuckin' bitch! I'll kill you for that!" He snarled. Chloe was already opening the door to the hall. She slammed it behind her and ran down the hall to the ballroom. Damned high heel shoes! She heard the door open behind her. Scott seemed more hobbled than Chloe. She had given the boys quite a squeeze.

"Come back here and I'll break that pretty little neck!"

'Wow!' She thought, 'What a tempting offer!' She got the door open , slipped into the ballroom, and tried to lose herself in the crowd. Her heart was pounding and her breath was ragged. She kept watching the door to see if Scott would come through it but he never did. Probably didn't want to have to explain his bloody shirt to everyone. Her feelings of fear and anger gradually faded to just anger. That bastard! If she had actually believed he would help rescue Jack she probably would have just closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and gone through with it. She would do anything for Jack. But it was obvious to her that Scott had no interest in helping Jack. He just wanted some easy nookie. 'Yeah, Karen's right. I am good at making new friends.' Chloe wondered what to do now.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The D.J. announced. "I am pleased to announce the arrival of tonight's guest of honor! Guy Fawkes!"

The whole room started cheering and Chloe turned to look. She was aware that most Guy Fawkes figures weren't much more than scarecrows but Colin had gone all out. He had built a life sized puppet, five and a half feet tall. Colin was operating the left arm and leg with rods while another man did the same on the right side. A third man supported the puppet's weight with a thicker rod fixed into a harness he wore and operated the head with a sixth rod. The puppet was dressed in a crude seventeenth century costume. The hair, face, and beard all looked pretty realistic although Chloe had no idea what Guy Fawkes was supposed to look like. She preferred to concentrate on terrorists from this millenium. The effect of the puppet walking clumsily into the room was quite comical.

The puppet walked up to a pretty redhead, put his right hand on his stomach and made a jerky bow. The whole room roared with laughter and even Chloe smiled. She had to admit, the puppet was pretty funny. The laughter lasted quite a while before it finally faded. One man somewhere behind Chloe kept laughing a few seconds longer than most of the others

"Heh! Heh! Heh!"

Chloe's smile faded and her blood turned to ice water. Guy Fawkes wasn't the only terrorist in the room.

14


	8. Little Miss Nutter

**Little Miss Nutter**

**Chloe and The Mice **

**Chapter 8**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The D.J. began playing a waltz as Chloe slowly turned to look behind her but there were dozens of men milling about. It could have been any one of them. Well, there was one it couldn't have been. She saw Adam talking to Jo who was seated along the wall. Jo smiled prettily and held out her hand. Adam took it and helped her stand. Just then Chloe arrived.

"Adam, dance with me!" She whispered furiously grabbing his arm.

"I had just asked Jo to . . ."

"Now!" She yanked on the arm hard.

Jo nodded her head. "Go ahead Adam, I'll get the next dance."

Adam led Chloe out on the floor where they began to dance. At least Adam danced, Chloe did more of a clumsy shuffle then stepped on his foot. She had removed the bandage on her hand earlier that day and he notice the stitches. "What happened to your hand?"

"I cut myself shaving!" She whispered irritably. "Now shut up and listen. There's a terrorist in the room!"

Adam's eyes narrowed and he immediately scanned the room for threats. "Who?"

"I don't know."

Adam looked over the crowd. Most of them were watching the Guy Fawkes puppet dancing clumsily with a pretty east Indian woman. It was a shame they were going to burn it. Chloe stepped on his other foot and stumbled. Apparently Guy was only the second worst dancer in the room. His shoe shine was definitely ruined.

"I don't know who he is but he knows who I am."

"How?"

"Because of you and that stupid California Girl stunt you pulled!" She stepped on his foot again. This time it was deliberate. She jammed her heel on his instep, shifted her weight on it and ground it in for good measure.

"Gaaarh! Crippling me isn't going to help!"

"I spoke to him on the phone. He knows my first name. Chloe's not that common a name and he knows I'm an analyst based in California."

"Start from the beginning."

Chloe told Adam all about the Mnesothyne warehouse and the man with the Irish accent, then about the laugh that she heard both there and here.

"Are you sure it's the same? Two people can have the same sounding laugh."

"It's a gut thing and my gut's telling me to get the hell out of here."

Adam knew there were several ways to poison someone in a crowded room. "I'll take you home."

He took her back to where Jo was sitting. "Chloe's going home now."

"You're not staying for the bonfire?"

"No, I'm not staying for the bonfire!"

"I'm going with her." A look of disapointment covered Jo's face. "Watch carefully and see if anyone follows us." The disapointment turned to determination. This wasn't a tryst, this was a mission.

"And Colin's going to need a ride home." Chloe added.

"I'll take care of Colin. You two be careful."

As Adam escorted Chloe to her car she said, "I'll drive, you ride shotgun. I mean that literally. Shoot any bad guys we run across."

"I didn't bring a gun."

"I've got one in the glove box."

Adam opened the glove box and pulled out the Beretta. He expertly popped the magazine out and inspected it. Checked the chamber to make sure it was empty, then snapped the magazine back into place and held it in his lap.

They went through the gate where the guard logged their IDs and license plate then drove back to London. After about twenty five minutes Adam's cell phone chirped.

"Yes?" He answered. Chloe heard a feminine sounding voice but couldn't make out the words. "Are you sure about that?" More indistinct chattering. "Very well, go ahead and enjoy the party but stay alert." He folded the phone and returned it to his pocket. "That was Jo, she said no one followed us out of the room or out of the compound. She was standing near the window where she could see both the front door and the gate."

"So now you think I'm crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy."

"Don't patronize me!" She hissed.

"I'm not patronising you Chloe. You went with your gut. Sometimes in this business that's all we have to go on. You might have caught him off guard. I'm sure he wasn't expecting you at the ball. He probably doesn't even think you suspect anything. I promise I'll look into it. If there's a rogue British agent trying to smuggle weapons into the country I want to know about it. And even if you turn out wrong it's better to be safe than sorry."

Chloe sat there quietly for a few minutes. "Let's start over. Hello, I'm Chloe O'Brian from CTU."

Adam smiled. "Adam Carter, MI-5."

"I'm really sorry about your wife being killed and I'll just shut up now."

"Thank you."

"Where do you live? I'll drop you off."

"That's OK, I'll take the tube home."

"Are you sure?"

"I want to make sure you get home safely Chloe."

"Thanks."

Chloe parked in front of the safe house, retrieved her weapon from Adam and went inside. Adam stood in the street watching until the light came on in the upstairs window then turned to walk to the tube station.

Thames House, The Next Morning

"Are you sure about this?" Harry had Adam and Jo in his office.

"No, I'm not sure but she seems to be." Adam answered.

"And you say no one attempted to follow them as they left?"

"Yes sir." Jo answered.

Harry paced a while. "I'm not going to throw Her Majesty's Secret Service into an uproar just because Little Miss Nutter heard a creepy laugh at a party." He looked out the door at The Grid. Ruth was speaking to someone on the phone. She had a bit of a worried look. Colin was rushing off to the lifts for some reason, and Zafar was making a paper airplane? Apparently he doesn't have enough work to do. "But on the other hand," Harry continued. "She is an experienced agent and the Americans seem to think highly of her abilities. I want the two of you to investigate the matter but do it quietly and discreatly."

"Yes sir." They both answered in unison.

As they left his office Harry looked around again. The O'Brian woman was late again. Ruth came trotting up to him.

"Harry, Scotland Yard is on line two. There was a bomb and some shooting. They're demanding that we turn over Chloe O'Brian for questioning."


	9. Frightened, Paranoid, and Armed

**Frightened, Paranoid and Armed**

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 9**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Agent O'Brian is on assignment to MI-5." Harry told the Scotland Yard detective over the phone. "She's not just some crazy American tourist. She is on assignment on a matter of national security. That means that we don't have to turn her over to you and you are to turn over everything you have to us. I expect it here in half an hour. Also if you mention her name to anyone I will charge you under the Official Secrets Act so fast it will make your head spin." He hung up the phone. "Now can someone tell me what the hell's going on around here!?'

One hour and four minutes ago.

Chloe got up bright and early. She still hadn't bought any groceries yet so she didn't have breakfast. No big deal. She'll get something out of the vending machines at Thames House. No coffee either. Chloe wasn't fully awake until she's had her morning coffee. She'll have to get that at Thames House also. She walked out to her car, put the key in the door and opened it.

A split second of confusion. Oh yeah, British car, steering on the other side. She glanced across at the steering wheel with the block of C-4 under it wired to the driver's side door.

"Oh Hell!"

Chloe didn't shut the door, she just took off running down the sidewalk. There might be a backup in case the bomb didn't go off. Sure enough she heard the sidewalk behind her shatter with the impact of a bullet. She didn't hear the rifle, probably silenced. No high heels this morning. Just her sensible rubber soled flats. The handful of people out on the street this morning looked at her with curiosity. They didn't know what was happening, probably figure it out before too long.

Chloe dived headfirst behind a parked car landing on her hands and knees. She felt her pants leg rip and skinned her knee badly on the concrete. She also ripped the stitches on her hand and thumped her forehead on the sidewalk. Wow! All this is probably going to hurt later. Right now she didn't have time for pain.

With a loud bang a jagged hole appeared in the car door about a foot from her head and Chloe gave out a loud squeek of fear. .50 Caliber Barrett M107 sniper rifle. American made. This car's about as useful as a sheet of plywood. Chloe's heart felt like a jack hammer in her chest. Don't need no coffee. Wide awake now. She scooted behind the hole hoping the sniper wouldn't shoot the same place twice and looked around desperately . Nowhere to go. Another shot went through the hood and punctured a tire with a loud pop and hiss. The car settled a few inches and Chloe whimpered. She felt somewhat embarrassed by her cowardice. Michelle never would've whined like that. She looked at the Italian restaurant across the sidewalk from her and saw her reflection in the large plate glass window. If she could see it so could the sniper. How long before he figures that out? Five seconds? Six? If she stays here she's dead.

Her left hand yanked her shirt open as her right hand grabbed the Beretta. Two shirt buttons bounced on the sidewalk unnoticed as she fired five rounds rapid fire into the large plate glass window of the restarant. Each shot left a little hole with a spider web of cracks that moved across the glass and intersected with each other. She then grabbed her laptop with her left hand and scooped up her purse with the little finger of her gun hand. She swung the purse out to the rear of the car. As she hoped the sniper saw the movement and took the bait. A bullet ripped through the purse tearing it from her grasp. At that same instant she jumped up and ran pell mell into the weakened plate glass. As the glass shattered around her she tripped. Every instinct in her body screamed that if she fell here in the window she's dead. Just go faster, try to keep her feet under her, off balance she stumbled deeper into the restaurant hit a chair, spun around, and fell on the floor.

She got up as fast as she could snatching up her laptop with one hand and the pistol with the other. No bullets ripped through her flesh. Apparently she was deep enough into the restaurant that the sniper couldn't see her. Good thing this place doesn't open for breakfast. Chloe ran through the kitchen and opened the back door tracking the alley with her pistol. An old woman dropped her bag of garbage and scurried back into her house. As Chloe moved swiftly up the alley she holstered her pistol and pulled a small blue cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She made a quick phone call to Scotland Yard to report the sniper and give the location and license number of the car bomb then shut the phone off and removed the battery. She got to the opposite side of the block from the sniper and hailed a cab.

"Where to ma'am?"

"The British Museum." Chloe blurted out the first place she could think of.

As they drove the cab driver asked, "Are you OK ma'am? You're bleeding."

Chloe looked at her reflection in the cab window. Yes a small cut on her forehead was bleeding she also had several small scratches on her hands and face as well as a couple of bruises. "Don't worry, it's alright."

"You really should get that taken care of."

"Just mind your own business!" She snapped.

At the British Museum Chloe picked up her laptop and exited the cab. The cabbie rolled down his window. "Don't forget my fare."

Chloe set down the laptop, unhooked her necklace and passed it through the window.

"This isn't a pawn shop ma'am."

Chloe leaned into the window "That's a seventy dollar necklace! Take it!"

She had forgotten the two buttons she'd pulled off her shirt. The cabbie's eyes were drawn to the dainty bra covered breasts but were quickly distracted by the butt of the pistol holstered under her left arm.

"OK! OK!" He quickly sped off.

Chloe hurried around to the side of the museum. "Well Chloe, here's another fine mess you got me into." Aside from a little pocket change she had no money, no passport, no friends, and was being stalked by rogue members of British Intelligence. She didn't know who to trust. Adam? He went home with her. He knew where she was staying and what her car looked like. Plus she had told all her suspicions to him. He might have planted the bomb himself. Jo? She was a reporter and Chloe didn't trust reporters. She might have resented Chloe's rudeness. She claims no one followed them but was she lying? Harry? Harry didn't like or trust her and the feeling was mutual. He probably wouldn't turn against his own people to help her. Ruth? She was too close to Harry. Chloe wasn't sure what their relationship was but there was something going on there.

She opened up the laptop and began working. She had an idea but she was sure all calls to MI-5 were monitored. She just had to bypass that. She was checking phone billing records. Hello! This might work. There's a pay phone down the street.

Colin Wells was fine tuning a tracking device when he felt the cell phone vibrating in his coat pocket. He got an exasperated smile on his face when he pulled it out. "Yes Mum, what is it this time?"

"It's me, Chloe."

"Chloe! How did you get this number? It's unlisted. Only my mother has it."

"Never mind that. I'm in trouble. Someone's trying to kill me."

"I'll get Harry."

"No! I don't trust Harry!"

"Well I do."

"But I don't! Come alone. I'll be in front of the British Museum."

As Colin hurried out he noticed that Harry was meeting Jo and Adam in his office. Ruth was on the phone and Yas was making a paper airplane.

Colin pulled up in front of the museum. He looked around but couldn't see any sign of Chloe. A scraggly looking man with a guitar approached him and knocked on the car window. "Are you Colin?"

Curious, Colin rolled down the window. "Yes."

"The American lady said you'd give me twenty pounds if I gave you this note."

"The American lady has a very generous soul when it comes to other people's money" Colin grumbled as he fished two ten pound notes from his wallet.

The note instructed him to turn around and go back the way he came for two blocks then turn left. He followed the instructions and Chloe ran up to his moving vehicle and opened the passenger side door. She tumbled in and tried to crouch low. "Keep driving."

Colin glanced over at Chloe, she looked like a mess. "What happened?"

"Someone put a bomb in my car. It was set to go off when the driver's side door was opened. I wouldn't have even seen it if I hadn't have tried to get in the wrong side. I owe my life to the fact that you Brits build your cars ass end backwards."

"We prefere to think that it's you Yanks who build your cars ass end backwards but as long as it saved your life, Viva la difference!"

"After I spotted the bomb a sniper took a couple of shots at me but he missed and I got away."

Judging from her battered appearance Colin figured there was more to the story than that but he didn't press the matter. "I'll take you to Thames House, you'll be safe there."

"No! Don't take me to Thames House. Someone in British Intelligence is trying to kill me! I don't know who to trust!"

"You trust me don't you?"

Chloe grimaced. "Not really, but you're the closest thing to a friend I have over here. I don't make friends very easy."

She popped the magazine from her pistol and inspected it. Four bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber, five shots. It would have to do. Even if she had money she didn't know where to buy ammunition. She hadn't seen any gun shops in London. Do they even have gun shops over here? She could ask Colin to get some bullets from MI-5. No, too risky. Just have to make do.

"Why don't you stay in my flat until we figure out what's going on here."

"You'll have to promise not to tell anyone where I am."

"I promise."

Colin's building was about a century old. It was kept in good repair but still had the slight Edwardian elegance and the worn patina of a hundred years of inhabitants. His flat was small and comfortable. Chloe glanced around the apartment. There were no feminine touches anywhere. A very modern computer station was set up in one corner. The dining room table was covered with tools, paint jars, and debris, apparently left over from building his Guy Fawkes puppet.

"There's a first aid kit in the kitchen under the sink and some iodine in the bathroom medicine cabinet. You'd better take care of those cuts. Help yourself to anything you want. I'd better get back to work. See you later this evening and I promise not to tell anyone where you are."

"Thanks Colin." She gave him an awkward hug and he left.

Harry stood in the conference room looking at the evidence Scotland Yard brought in laid out on the table. There were some misshapen and broken bullets, apparently .50 calibre and 9mm. Chloe's purse had a bullet hole torn through it. All the contents were laid out. Aside from the usual napkins, cosmetics, ball point pens and other typical purse contents there was also a PDA smashed by the bullet which also punched a hole through her burgundy passport and shattered half a roll of peppermint Life Savers. There was also a Tazer, her CTU I.D. and her billfold which was clipped on the edge by the bullet. Her keys were found on the sidewalk where she apparently dropped them and there were several photos of the crime scene, the car bomb, and some blood stains. Adam and Jo had already left for the crime scene.

Ruth entered the room. "Harry, I'm going to see the security officer at the party. His log should have the names of everyone at the party."

"Good idea Ruth. Take Zaf with you. This situation has gotten pretty dangerous."

He saw Colin walk in and head to the tech room. "Colin, I need to talk to you."

"Yes sir." Colin followed Harry into his office.

"Colin, where is Agent O'Brian?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"The fact that you left for fifty minutes and just came back with some fresh blood smeared on your back."

"I promised not to tell." He saw Harry's jaw set. "Sir, at the moment she's frightened, paranoid, and armed. She's being hunted by someone in British Intelligence, that's us. She doesn't know who to trust. She trusts me but not very much. If she thinks I betrayed her there's no telling what she might do. She might even get violent."

Harry understood how dangerous someone in that situation could be. On cold mornings he still ached from where Tom Quinn had blasted him with the shotgun. And during his 30 some years as a spook he'd been in her situation a couple of times. Including a rather unpleasant week in Bulgaria during the Cold War. That's one reason he'd been so forgiving of Tom. "OK, I don't need to know where she is right now. Go to her. I promise not to put a tail on you when you leave. Just try to reassure her and win her trust. We'll be needing her help before long.


	10. I Ask The Questions

**I Ask The Questions**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 10**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

En route to MI-6

"So you know the gate guard?" Yas asked Ruth as they drove though London.

"Not socially, he works the front desk over as six sometimes. His last name is Goldman."

"Ruth, what do you think is happening?"

Ruth stared out the cars passenger side window. "I think the Americans accidentally stumbled across a monstrous plot against the UK that neither they nor we can fully grasp. The Mexican cargo container was a declaration of war. If someone in the intelligence services is involved then the terrorists will be able to stay one step ahead of us. He probably thought that Agent O'Brian was sent here from the U.S. specifically to find him. By attacking her he tipped his hand and alerted us. I hope that it turns out to be a fatal mistake."

Colin's flat

Chloe used Colin's first aid kit to patch up her leaks. It would be rude to drip blood all over his apartment. He also invited her to help herself to anything she wanted so she put a pot of coffee on and checked the cupboard. Mmmmm, a can of vegetable beef soup looks good. She also found a small sewing kit. She put the soup on the stove, took off her shirt, and began sewing a couple of buttons on to replace the lost ones. She didn't want anyone to think she was a slut. She had taken the shoulder holster off and set it on the table next to her.

Chloe heard a clicking noise from the door. Someone was trying to unlock it! It was much too soon for Colin to have come back. They must have followed her! She grabbed her pistol and slipped into the bedroom leaving the door open just a crack. Then the front door opened.

The safe house

Adam drove Jo to the street where Chloe's safe house was located. The police had blocked off both ends of the block and the bomb squad robot was sitting forlornly in the middle of the street near Chloe's car. The car itself had three detectives going over it looking for fingerprints and other clues. Near the corner where Adam and Jo were standing was another car with a couple of large bullet holes in it parked in front of an Italian restaurant with its front window smashed out. There were some small blood smears and droplets on the sidewalk next to the car. If Chloe was wounded, it wasn't too severe.

Jo identified herself to the head detective, a large red faced man. "As far as we can tell, the sniper was on the roof of that block of flats." Waving a beefy hand at a large building about 600 metres away. "The bomb was put in quickly and wired to the driver's side door. I suspect that since this is a well traveled street, the bomber was afraid he'd be seen. That's why he didn't do a more elaborate bomb attached to the ignition system. Still, it was practically invisible from the driver's side. Fortunately Miss O'Brian opened her door from the passenger side."

"Any clues as to the shooter's identity?"

"No ma'am."

"Well we're going to check the house."

Adam and Jo went through the house carefully. Nothing seemed out of place. Most of Chloe's clothing was still in the suitcase. Jo took the clothes out of it carefully. She pulled out a music CD. "This is odd."

"What?" Adam walked over. "The Magic Flute by Mozart, it appears that Chloe likes opera."

"But Chloe didn't bring a CD player with her. And why pack only one CD?"

Adam's brow furrowed. "A program?"

"Exactly! And one she didn't bring in the briefcase. I don't think she wanted anyone to know she brought it."

"We'd better take it with us. Maybe Malcolm can figure it out."

Adam opened the wardrobe. Hanging inside was Jo's green dress from last night with Chloe's black pumps sitting underneath it. The sight of the pumps made his bruised foot ache. Jo opened her purse and pulled out a small scanner. She switched in on and a small red light immediately started flashing. Adam saw the light and nodded. There was a transmitter of some kind nearby.

"I'll go check the kitchen," he announced to whatever bug might be listening.

"Good idea, I don't think there's anything in here." Jo replied moving quietly around the room. The signal seemed stronger near the wardrobe. On a hunch Adam took the green dress out and carried it to the bed. The signal followed. He carefully ran his hands over the dress searching. Then he pulled a small device the size of a pill from under the hem of the skirt.

"Relax, it's just a locater beacon, it doesn't transmit sound."

Jo approached to take a better look. "It's one of ours."

"Yes, one of Colin's little toys." Adam rolled it between his fingers. It was covered with adhesive and little burrs to make it stick to cloth.

Jo frowned, "So it is someone in British Intelligence."

Adam glanced over at her. Jo was beautiful no matter how bad a mood she was in. "Not necessarily, we stick a lot of these things on a lot of bad guys. It's possible that some of them might find them and refurbish them. But there's a very good chance one of us is involved. They didn't have to follow us last night. All they had to do was track Chloe down after the party."

Jo looked thoughtful. "They didn't try to break in and kill Chloe in her sleep."

"Too risky," Adam said. "Don't forget, I went home with her. They probably assumed I was spending the night with her." He noticed Jo's angry scowl. "Which of course I wasn't. They would have had to go up against two agents. The bomb was safer."

MI-6

"So Officer Goldman didn't come in today?" Ruth asked the security officer.

"It's his day off. He's not due back until Saturday."

"What about his logbook? That's a classified document."

"I assumed he would protect it and bring it in on Saturday to be locked up."

"You're assuming an awful lot." Ruth's tone was chilly. The grey eyes narrowed with contempt. "I would like his home telephone number."

"I don't think I'm authorised to give it to you."

Yas had a slight smile. "I suppose we'll have to ask your supervisor. I hope the subject of your casual attitude toward secret documents doesn't come up in the conversation."

A few minutes later as they were driving through London, Ruth was on her cell phone. "Mrs. Goldman? I'd like to speak with Isaac." . . . . . . . . . "When do you expect him back?" . . . . . . . . . . . . "Thank you, I'll contact you if we find him. Goodbye." She folded the phone and dropped it into her purse. "Isaac Goldman never came home last night. His wife thought he was at work. We do work odd hours sometimes."

"They got the logbook." Yas gripped the steering wheel tighter. "That's how they got the license number to Chloe's car."

Ruth pursed her lips. "I don't think we're going to see Officer Isaac Goldman, at least not alive."

Colin's flat

Emily Wells toted the large laundry basket into Colin's flat and kicked the door shut. There was something odd. Colin should be at work but she could smell fresh coffee and soup. She glanced around. "Colin! Are you here!?" Then the bedroom door opened and a strange young blond woman emerged dressed only in a bra and dirty torn trousers. She had a band aid on her forehead and a bandage wrapped around her right hand. She also had some nasty looking bruises and several small scratches on her face and arms. She was pointing a pistol at the floor in front of Emily's feet. Did Colin get a girlfriend? Surely he would have mentioned it. "Who are you?"

"I have the gun. I ask the questions. Those are the rules." The strange woman responded. "Now who are you?" Her accent sounded American or maybe Canadian. Emily wasn't very good at these things.

Emily eyed her defiantly. "Emily Wells."

The woman's eyebrows raised slightly. "Colin's mother?"

"Yes."

"Prove it."

"How?"

The young woman pondered a couple of seconds. "Colin has a cell phone that only his mother knows the number to. Tell me the number."

Emily recited the number. The woman still looked suspicious. "Got any more proof?"

Emily spotted an album behind Chloe on the bookshelf. "There's an album on the shelf. Take it down and open it."

"No, you take it down and open it."

Emily slowly walked to the shelf, pulled down the album, opened it, and showed Chloe a photograph. Chloe checked the photo. It was about twenty years old and showed Colin with another young man and young woman, presumably siblings, with a younger version of Emily and a mature man, probably his father. Colin still had a full head of hair back then.

Chloe switched on the Beretta's safety. Colin would get so pissed if she shot his mother. "OK, I believe you."

"Very well, I'll just be on my way."

"No you won't. I said I believe you, I didn't say I trusted you. You're going to stay here with me until Colin gets back."

Emily's jaw set. "Very well, if that's the way it's going to be you can at least tell me your name young lady!"

"Chloe O'Brian, I'm a friend of Colin's."

"You don't seem very friendly!"

"I've had a bad day,." Chloe poured out two cups of coffee then poured the soup into a bowl.

"So you work for MI-5?"

"No, I'm American. I'm just visiting."

"What do you do?"

Chloe finished sewing the last button on. "Things that are none of your business." She put on the dirty shirt and buttoned it up. She drank some soup and opened her laptop. Chloe wasn't going to sit around on her butt all day when traitors and terrorists were running around loose.

Thames House

Malcolm was working at his station when a new icon appeared. He clicked it and a new message appeared. 'Malcolm, this is Chloe. Made any progress?'

He typed back. 'No, not yet. BTW we have your purse. Your PDA was destroyed.'

' : ( I recommend getting the gate guard's logbook from the party.'

'Way ahead of you. The guard is missing and so is the log.'

Chloe paused. These guys were playing for keeps. Emily asked "What are you doing?"

"Government stuff, don't talk to me while I'm working. Go watch TV or something." She was aware of Emily leaving the kitchen. 'Have any Brit agents recently returned from Mex?'

"Who's that?" Ruth asked Colin.

"Chloe O'Brian, we're brainstorming." Colin's fingers flew over the keyboard trying to find the info.

"Can you trace her?"

Malcolm paused. "She's set up an untraceable link. It's bouncing from one satellite to another and constantly rotating. I can try. The pattern isn't completely random. It's following a program she entered into her computer and she has to change it once in a while. If I manage to distract her long enough and keep her from changing it I might get a lock. She's very good but so am I. I'm just afraid she might notice and it'll just . . ."

"Feed her paranoia?" Ruth interrupted. "Drive her deeper underground?"

"Yes."

"Never mind then, just carry on. Any progress?"

"I'm trying to see if any of our agents have recently returned from Mexico. I've cleared MI-5 but I can't get past the firewalls at six."

Ruth made a tight lipped smile. "I've got a suggestion."

Colin's flat

Chloe felt a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lip. Ruth's suggestion was a good one. MI-6's financial records weren't as heavily guarded as their mission and agent records. Between herself and Malcolm they were managing to break through. She was in The Zone. Then she heard Colin come back.

"Mum! What are you doing here?"

"I was just dropping off your laundry but your new girlfriend wouldn't let me leave!"

"She's not my . . ."

"Walking around half naked waving a gun in the air! That's no way for a proper young lady to act! Scared me half to death! And so rude!"

Chloe noticed MI-6 paid for two first class tickets to Mexico City on the 1st of October.

"Chloe's just a . . ."

"I don't like her! Not one bit! Colin you're a handsome lad. You can do much better than her!"

On November 3rd MI-6 purchased one return ticket and set aside a lot of money for the purchase and shipment of a . . . Oh my God!"

"Colin you should meet Carol McDonald's daughter Beth! She's very pretty and smart as a whip! She's a real estate broker and you have to be really smart to do that!"

Chloe's brow furrowed. They would have to get airport security footage to see who left for Mexico October 1st and compare it to the people who came back on November 3rd. Malcolm was much more familiar with Heathrow's security systems. She'll let him do it.

"Chloe just needs to stay here for. . ."

"She's mean and bossy! And those crazy Americans are always running around shooting each other! I've seen them on the telly!"

Comparing faces is going to take a while. Chloe recommended that Malcolm should get Adam. He might recognize someone.

"Mother be quiet and listen!" Malcolm's voice was stern and commanding. Emily shut up. "There are some very bad people looking for Chloe, if they find her they will kill her and anyone else around her! You need to swear to never tell anyone about her. Understand?"

"Yes Colin."

"OK Mum, you can go home now and remember, not a word to anyone." Chloe heard what sounded like a kiss then the door opening and closing. She leaned back and rubbed her eyes as Colin entered the kitchen. "I see you've met my mother."

"Yeah, everything she said about me is true."

Colin smiled, "Of course, she's my mother. She wouldn't lie to me. And don't worry. She can be discreet if she needs to."

"If you say so. Malcolm and I think we may have a lead on who's after me."

Thames House

Harry looked up as Ruth entered his office with a packet. She looked disturbed. Her face was paler than usual. Harry got up and moved around the desk. To see the photos better of course. Her hair smelled like floral shampoo. No! keep your mind on the matter at hand!

Ruth pulled several photos from the packet. There was one she left in the envelope. She had already seen it once and didn't want to see it again. She would take it out only if Harry requested her to. She began. "On October 1st MI-6 sent two agents, Michael Cartwright and Kevin Rourke to Mexico, we believe to investigate and international arms smuggling ring. During the course of the investigation Agent Cartwright was killed by the smugglers."

"Of course he was." Harry said skeptically.

"The smuggling ring was broken up by the Americans and the Mexican government seized the warehouse. Agent Rourke returned with the body of Agent Cartwright.

"So where's Rourke now?"

"My contact says he requested compassionate leave to get over the death of his friend and partner."

"Yes, I'm sure he's very broken up over it." Harry picked up the photo of Rourke. A thin hatchet faced man with a mop of dark brown hair. We'll have to find him! What happened to Cartwright? A bullet in the back or maybe just a knife?"

Ruth gently placed her fingertips on the envelope and the photo she didn't take out. "Nothing so quick." Her voice cracked a little. " Someone very slowly and systematically broke every bone in his body."


	11. The Taming of The Shrew

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 11**

**The Taming of The Shrew**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Author's note: Gee, this story's already longer than I thought it would be. As Tolkien said, it's a tale that grew with the telling. (Don't worry, I won't let it get that long) There's still a lot more to go. 24 is owned by Fox and MI-5/Spooks is owned by Kudos and the BBC.

Chloe hid in the kitchen while Colin paid for the pizza. She didn't want even a delivery boy to know where she was. She emerged after the coast was clear. Colin gave her a friendly smile. "Anything else you need Chloe?"

"After a crappy day like this I could use a stiff drink to calm me down."

Colin went into the kitchen and emerged with two bottles. "In honor of your heritage I have both Irish and American whiskies. Which do you prefer?"

"I'm Irish-American. Let's mix them."

Colin poured a little from each bottle into the two shot glasses. "So, what'll we drink to?"

Chloe stared into the amber liquid. "We'll drink to those who passed on before us." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Colin held up his glass. "To Captain Nathan Hale!"

Chloe responded, "And Major John Andre!"

"And all our other fallen brothers and sisters since then."

The two of them sipped their drinks and thought of friends cut down in the prime of life fighting a war they couldn't win where stalemate was the best possible option.

Chloe stared at her empty glass. "I hate my job." She whispered.

Colin just watched her profile. She had removed all her makeup earlier in the day and she was beautiful. In spite of the small cuts and bruises or perhaps because of them. As much as Colin loathed the idea of anyone hurting Chloe she had earned those marks in honorable combat and wore them like jewels.

"I'm so tired of all the death and destruction, losing my friends. Every time we wipe out a terrorist group, another one pops up in its place. Every time one of my friends die, a little piece of my soul dies with them. I don't how much longer I can go on until there's nothing left.

Colin refilled the shot glasses mixing the whiskies again. "You could always resign."

"No I can't, there's too much at stake. I'm doing good work. Saving people's lives. But I'm just so tired. Tired of the paranoia. Tired of the killing. Tired of the evil, goofy government conspiracies that don't make any sense even when someone explains them to you."

Colin chuckled, "Oh the tales I could tell about goofy government conspiracies." He mimicked a pompous ass. "We just seem like evil murdering scum balls to your untrained eye but we're really brilliant patriots and if you weren't so damned stupid you'd understand and applaud just how bloody brilliant and patriotic we really are!"

Chloe smiled. She knew the type only too well. Colin had never seen her smile before. She held up her glass. "To stupid government conspiracies and the idiots who come up with them!"

"Hear! Hear!" Colin clinked glasses with her.

Colin got up and went to the telly. Let's watch a movie. Want to see a good horror movie?"

"No I don't want to see a damned horror movie! I live in a horror movie! Find something lighter."

Colin bypassed the DVDs to pick out a videotape. How about The Taming of The Shrew with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor?"

"Shakespeare filled that play with classical brainwashing techniques."

"Brainwashing?"

"Yes! Sleep deprivation! Food deprivation! Forcing her to repeat things she knows aren't true! Stick it in and I'll show you!"

Colin put in the video and walked back to the couch. "You can have the bed tonight. I'll sleep on the couch."

"No! I'm not taking your bed! I'll take the couch!"

"Chloe, I insist."

"Colin, if you sleep on the couch I swear I'm sleeping on the floor! I'm not taking your bed!"

They sat on the couch together and watched Petrucio brainwash poor Kate. Colin gently put his arm around Chloe's shoulder. She stiffened and tensed but didn't pull away. Chloe hated to be touched. She also craved it. She was also remembering why she didn't like to drink. She was very seldom a happy drunk. She was a sad drunk, occasionally a mean nasty drunk, but very rarely a happy drunk. Right now she was a sad drunk.

She really shouldn't be doing this with Colin. She didn't love him, at least not like that. She loved Jack. Colin was a good friend but Morris taught her what happens when you start a relationship with someone just because they're your friend. She ended up marrying Morris not out of any great love although she did love him a little. She just wanted to be normal and live in a normal house with a husband, kids, and Legos all over the floor. But it didn't work out. Morris ran around on her. Even slept with some of her friends from work. Chloe didn't know if it was him or if she drove him out with her personality disorders.

She'd read somewhere that true love wasn't two people staring into each other's eyes but two people standing side by side staring in the same direction. That's how she felt about Jack. He was the only one who saw the world the same way she did. Who understood that sometimes you have to give up the things you love so that others can keep them. She loved Jack. But Jack didn't love her. He never will. Jack loved Audrey and as much as it hurt Chloe accepted that. Audrey was better than she was in every way. Except for the brains of course. Not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. Audrey thought Jack was perfect. Chloe knew better. Jack was a mess even before the Chinese and God knows what he would be like when they got him back from them. Audrey still thought that all they had to do was rescue Jack from the Chinese and the two of them would live happily ever after. She didn't get it. Chloe understood. There are no happy endings. Not for Jack and not for any woman who loves him. Loving Jack isn't about happiness it's about pain. You share his pain and by doing so perhaps you can lessen it. And if you got a few hours of happiness here or there they should be treasured because they weren't going to last. Someday Jack will go out on a mission and he's not coming back. Chloe hoped Audrey figured this out before it was too late.

Chloe accepted the fact that Jack and Audrey loved each other and she was happy for them but she still wanted Jack for herself. Was it really so selfish of her to just want to be loved?

Chloe nestled into Colin. It felt good to feel the warmth of another human being. It was all wrong. She shouldn't let him inside her shell. Every time she let a man into the shell, whether it was Morris, Jack, Edgar, or Spenser, it gave her nothing but pain. Stay inside the shell. Nothing can hurt you inside the shell. It was safe inside the shell. It was . . . . . . . lonely . . . . . . . . . . So terribly lonely. She knew any romantic relationship with Colin would end the same way all her relationships ended. In pain, heartbreak and despair.

But she was so lonely. She's always been lonely. Married to Morris, visiting her family, even as a little girl she's been lonely. A part of her was screaming don't do it! It's the alcohol, the near death experience, the adrenalin, the loneliness, probably a little resentment against Jack. Just think it though. You don't really love him. But another part of her just didn't care. She knew how much pain she would suffer down the road but she had already suffered so much. Was it really such a bad thing to want a little happiness for herself? If only for just a few moments? No matter how much pain it cost her later? You're not getting any younger girl and it doesn't look like you'll be getting much older either.

Chloe crawled up into Colin's lap and kissed him hard on the lips. Her awkwardness knocked his glasses crooked but she didn't care. When her fingers clumsily fumbled at his shirt buttons he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. He looked at her beautiful battered face and asked, "Chloe, are you sure this is what you want?" Colin thought Chloe looked a little sad but she nodded and leaned into him. As he kissed her he noticed that her cheeks were wet.

Malcolm rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted. It was well past one a.m. and only the night crew was left on the grid. It was time to go home. The thought of sleep beckoned him. As he got up a CD box caught his eye. The Magic Flute. Adam and Jo brought it back from Chloe's place. They thought there might be a program on it. Malcolm decided to ask Chloe about it the next time he heard from her but then curiosity got the better of him. He would see it he could find out what was on it. It'll only take a few minutes. He popped the disk into the computer. Ninety seconds later he was wide awake and utterly terrified.


	12. Strawberry and The Magic Flute

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 12**

**Strawberry and The Magic Flute**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The sound of the telephone woke both of them. Colin sat up in the bed and reached across Chloe's body to pick up the receiver. He could hear Chloe mumbling softly, something about gawdamned bastards as he answered. "Colin Wells here."

Chloe could hear a very agitated voice speaking over the phone.

"We've got a virus?" Colin sounded worried. "And what's this about a magic flute? Oww!" Chloe's hand had suddenly darted out like a striking cobra across his face yanking the phone out of his hand and raking him on the nose with it.

"Chloe O'Brian here! Physically disconnect all backup drives immediately! Use the bolt cutters from the tool kit! We'll try to shunt the virus into an unused storage area! And send a helicopter to Colin's apartment building immediately to pick me up!"

Chloe leaped out of the bed. "You don't have a helicopter on standby!? Then get the police! They must have something in the air! Your agents will start dying in half an hour unless I get there!" While Chloe was speaking on the phone she was frantically pulling her pants on. Where's her damned shirt? She grabbed one of Colin's out of the laundry basket and threw in on. It hung like a tent. She slipped on her shoes without bothering with socks. Colin grabbed her jacket, holster, and laptop and followed her out the door.

Outside traffic had stopped because of the police helicopter settling on the street. Chloe and Colin tumbled into the helicopter, Chloe still barking orders into the phone. "All terminals shut down! Good! Now open one up and type in the following sequence HOTEL YANKEE JULIET NINER FOUR TWO! Oh shit! I almost forgot! Hold on a minute!"

She passed Colin's phone back to him and pulled her own small blue cell phone from her jacket pocket. Her fingers fumbled as she stuffed the batteries back in and dialed a number. "Pick up. Pick Up." She whispered impatiently as a distant phone rang.

"CTU Los Angeles, Morris O'Brian."

"Morris, it's Chloe!"

"Sweetheart! How are things over at Five? Is Malcolm Wynn-Jones still . . .?"

"Shut up Morris! Check the status of a program called 'Strawberry.'"

"OK." Chloe waited for several excruciatingly long seconds. "It activated nine minutes ago. Wow! Its really sucking up the power too! What does it . . .?"

"Hit the menu button on the lower left hand corner! Click abort then confirm abort. Then go back to the menu and click total shutdown and confirm!"

"Roger, Done and done darlin'. So what's this all ab . . .?"(_click)_

Chloe dropped the blue cell phone back into her pocket before grabbing Colin's phone again. "Malcolm! I just bought us a little more time! I can see Thames House. We're almost there. Disconnect every system you have from every other system as much as possible!"

Chloe and Colin dashed into Thames House. Chloe ignored the desk guard who shouted after her, running past him only to be brought up short by a locked steel door which she greeted with a volley of curses. Colin stopped to explain things to the guard and get the door open. Not bothering with the elevator Chloe leaped up the stairs three at a time. Colin, being taller and stronger, passed her on the stairs and entered the Tech room first where Malcolm was desperately working at the console. Chloe joined him and looked at the screen frowning. "We seem to have confined it to the mainframe," she said. Three processing units are pretty badly corrupted but I think we can save the others. Start unscrewing panels 4, 5, and 8."

"Sure." Colin picked up an electric screwdriver and began removing the panels. Chloe and Malcolm were trying to shunt the program into a data storage unit. She then joined Colin.

"Get some wire cutters and cut all leads into these processing units. Don't try unscrewing them. It takes too long.

Colin did as she said. He saw Chloe pull one processing unit out and toss it carelessly on the floor where it made a small bounce. "Be careful with those! Don't you know what they're worth!?"

"Their weight in scrap metal? These guys are toast."

Colin grunted in frustration but kept working. He loved this computer and felt like he was cutting gangrenous limbs off one of his own children. He then noticed Harry Pearce standing in the doorway. He obviously also dressed quickly. Dress pants and a tank top undershirt, dress shoes with no socks and an overcoat. He didn't look happy as he surveyed the mess in front of him.

"Would you care to explain this?"

"Be happy to later! Kinda busy now!" Chloe sent another processing unit skidding across the floor.

Harry didn't say another word. He spent another twenty-five minutes watching them tear apart his computer until Chloe declared the virus was contained.

"What kind of damage are we looking at?" He asked Colin.

Colin's brow furrowed. "I think I can have it back up to sixty percent capacity in about three hours. We lost a lot of data. Most of its on the backup disks but some of it's irretrievably gone. Total repairs will take days and cost about seven to eight thousand pounds."

"I see," Harry said curtly. "And how did this happen?" His voice was quiet but sounded much more frightening than if he were screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Dumbo here put a virus program in without knowing what it was." Chloe answered. "How can anybody so smart be so stupid?" She asked Malcolm.

Malcolm looked shamed. "Adam and Jo brought a disk back from Chloe's house. It was disguised as a music CD. Mozart's The Magic Flute. I thought it might have information pertaining to this case."

"The two of you in my office. Colin, stay here and try to fix this mess."

Harry looked over the two analysts standing in his office with downcast eyes. Malcolm was still wearing his suit but with his collar and tie loosened. Chloe had on a pair of dirty pants with one leg torn open revealing an ugly scab on her knee. She was also wearing one of Colin's dress shirts with no sign of a bra. "Nice shirt O'Brian, a little large don't you think?" He noticed her face colour with embarrassment. "So Colin was hiding you in his flat? That was so obvious that it never occurred to me. I guess I still think like a field agent. But I'm so happy to have you back with us. Now what the hell was that thing!"

"It's called Strawberry. It's a virus program I've been working on in my spare time. It's not finished."

"So you're responsible for wrecking my computer?"

Chloe looked up at him. He noticed a defiant spark in her eyes. "If you mean that I didn't put a yellow sticky note on it saying 'Hey Shit-For-Brains, don't put this in your computer' then I am responsible. But I had no intention of wrecking your computer. I never brought the disk in here. I kept it at the safe house."

Harry turned to Malcolm. "So this is your fault? You put a strange program in the computer with no safeguards." Malcolm seemed to wilt in front of him.

"Yes, I did it."

Chloe spoke up. "No! It's not his fault! He didn't know what was on the disk. If someone gives a hand grenade to a chimp you don't blame the chimp! I'm the one who created it and I didn't warn you."

Malcolm's brow furrowed. Chloe was defending him but did she just compare him to a chimp?

Harry just glared at the two of them. He wanted someone to blame but who? Chloe had taken some precautions against them getting the virus. She also came out of hiding to help them, risking assassination. Malcolm was just seeking information and that was the purpose of this agency. Adam and Jo brought it into Thames House but they're supposed to bring in anything that might be a clue. He shut his eyes and tried to calm down. He wished Ruth were here. "I think the problem is this petty secrecy. We've been allies for the past century but we still don't fully trust each other. Chloe, start at the beginning and tell us about this program."

Chloe kept her eyes down. "I have a worm virus program called 'Fencepost.' If entered into a computer it can remain dormant indefinitely. By punching a code into a phone you can activate it to destroy the firewalls from within as well as perform other preprogrammed functions."

"Did you create it yourself?"

"No it was created by Nina Myers." Chloe didn't quite spit the name out but she came close. It sounded more like a cuss word than a name. Chloe felt nothing but hatred for Nina, Nina the Traitor, Nina The Murderer, Nina the Terrorist. When Jack's marriage to Teri was strained, instead of helping him strengthen it, Nina pried them further apart. And when they reconciled Nina murdered Teri destroying any chance Jack had for happiness. Chloe never knew Teri but her picture was on The Wall of Remembrance even though she wasn't really a CTU employee which was against the rules. At least they drew the line at Lynn's crackhead sister.

"It doesn't sound like she's a friend of yours."

"I never met her. She worked at CTU before I arrived there. I only saw her once after she was arrested in Mexico on the day she died." The day Jack killed her. Dante reserved the lowest level of Hell for traitors. Chloe sincerely hoped Nina was there. "Nina first set up the computer at CTU. She was there when it opened. She wasn't just great with the computers but also a superb field agent" Unlike me. "She turned traitor, caused a lot of damage and several deaths."

Harry was starting to get interested. "Do you know her motive?"

"Not really, I have a theory. We all have motives for joining the service such as patriotism or a need to protect people. I think Nina just wanted to be James Bond. The excitement, the sports cars, the sex. But it's not really like that. You don't get to be James Bond on a government salary. The work is more boredom than excitement. We drive the same cars and live in the same houses as other middle class people. Real spooks spend more time spying in places like Kabul or Bagdad than places like Monaco or Bermuda. Nina didn't think she was getting paid enough for the risks she took so she started making money on the side. At least that's my theory."

"But anyway." She went on. "Nina left a nasty worm virus in the CTU computer as an insurance policy. She activated it after she was arrested in Mexico hoping to extort CTU into letting her go. Unfortunately for her I was able to defeat it." A tone of pride crept into her voice. "Later I had to extract it from our computers but instead of destroying it I salvaged as much as I could to refine into a weaponized version that I named Fencepost."

"Fencepost is a good program but it has some drawbacks. It has to be put directly into the computer by someone there. And it's complex. It takes time to put it in. And of course we don't always have physical access to an enemy's computer. So I started working on another program called Strawberry which is Fencepost on steroids."

"Strawberry is a Trojan Horse disguised as something else. The plan is to get some Patsy to put in in the enemy computer and try to access it. Strawberry will then activate, upload itself and begin making copies of itself. It will take over the computer and begin destroying the firewalls. It also sends a signal to the CTU mainframe which automatically begins attacking the firewalls from the outside. Once it starts it can't be stopped. I'm sorry about what happened here tonight. Strawberry isn't complete and wasn't meant to be used yet."

Harry noticed his mouth was open and shut it. He felt both excited and appalled. This small average looking American woman was far more dangerous than he ever imagined;

Chloe looked at the floor and shuffled her feet. "If it helps, I have a vaccine program against Fencepost that will recognize and erase it if someone tries to enter it into your computer. I'll give it to you."

"Thank you very much Chloe!" Harry said sarcastically. "That will make up for everything! You two go help Colin try to put the computer back together. And take that damned thing with you!" He said gesturing at the Magic Flute CD sitting on his desk. "We have all your possessions from the safe house here. You can change it you want to."

"Thanks, also I need to check my weapon in at the desk."

"That won't be necessary."

Chloe felt stunned. She could tell Harry didn't like her very much but he was showing extraordinary trust in her. As they left the office she noticed her purse and its contents laid out on the table. "Are you guys through pawing through my stuff?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Chloe began stuffing things back into her purse. She mourned the loss of her PDA then picked up the Tazer, at least her old friend, Mr. Sparky, was OK. She then took the purse to the ladies room. It looked like it was going to be a long night, might as well freshen up and change first.

In a darkened hotel room a cell phone chirped. The man sleeping on the bed woke up instantly alert, scanning the room. Under the bed sheets he was grasping an automatic pistol. Then he picked up the phone. "Yes?"

"She's back. Came back in a police helicopter of all things. Must have been in some kind of hurry. She's still there."

The man smiled. "Take no action. Don't harm a single hair on her pretty little head. Keep an eye on her and tell me if she leaves."

"Very well, don't forget to lay low. We're still under orders to arrest you on sight."

The man's face darkened. "If I wanted you to tell me things I already know I would order you to read to me the instructions that came with my toaster. Just do as you're told and try not to think too much." He disconnected and lay back on the bed. It seems he might have been a little too hasty trying to kill O'Brian. She didn't know nearly as much as he thought she did. Now he couldn't go back to MI-6. It made him much less effective. It was almost as big a blow as the loss of the cargo container. But one thing his twenty years in the SAS and MI-6 had taught him was to adapt and overcome. He still had a few more aces up his sleeve. Michael Collingwood had assured him that the new Britain would renounce all claims to Northern Ireland. Of course Ireland would never be truly free until it's been thoroughly washed with the blood of traitors. Small minded fools would call him a traitor but in reality he had always been true to his beliefs. A viper nestled in the breast of Mother England.

Steve McKenzie was still peering through the telescope at Thames House when Scott Jensen put the phone down. "So that was the infamous Chloe O'Brian! OK I guess but no great beauty. Not even your type Scott! What's with the fixation?"

Scott scowled. "I didn't want to marry the bitch! Just have a little bit of fun! A little shag to take the edge off. She had no right to bloody my nose like that! All she had to do was say no! If I weren't such a gentleman I would have punched her right back!"

Steve's expression remained neutral. He knew what kind of gentleman Scott was. So did the Welsh girl he helped Scott bury three months earlier. Scott had strangled her but not nearly enough. Her eyes opened and she started struggling frantically as they shoveled the dirt on her. At least the duct tape kept her from screaming. Steve thought the whole business was sloppy and sordid, very unprofessional. But this operation was too vital to be sidelined by rape charges. The very survival of the U.K. hung in the balance. Some sacrifices would have to be made.

Author's note: Some of the characters in this story are from season 5 of Spooks. I haven't seen season 5 and won't until A&E get around to showing it on American television. If any of you have seen it please let me know if anybody gets too much out of character. Thank you.


	13. She's Not Your Queen

** She's Not Your Queen**

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 13**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Chloe lay back in her bunk in the darkened jail cell. She could hear water dripping from a leaky sink somewhere. She pulled the rough wool blanket up to her chin. She figured everybody here hated her now. Colin and Malcolm hated her for wrecking their computer. Harry had always hated her. She had read in the papers about the witch hunt Senator Bell was conducting at CTU and they might just toss little Chloe O'Brian to the wolves to keep them happy. She didn't know if she could ever return to the U.S. without getting arrested the minute she stepped off the plane and now it looked like she wasn't welcome in Britain either. It had taken the three of them a little over two hours to get the MI-5 mainframe working about as well as it could without spare parts. It was still a clunky nightmare but at least it sort of functioned. Afterwards Chloe was escorted down to this jail cell. Thames House had a handful of very rarely used cells in the basement and they made a splendid place to take a nap before going back to work. Chloe rolled over and went to sleep.

The next morning Chloe didn't say anything to anyone that didn't relate directly to her duties. Even Colin got the cold shoulder. As the morning wore on she got bored. No parts for the computer were scheduled to arrive until late afternoon. It was nice to know that deliveries in London were just as inefficient as in Los Angeles. Chloe decided to go out for a while.

She was wearing a white blouse with a navy blue button down sweater and a matching blue skirt that hung a couple of inches below her knees. There were several disguise kits available so she picked out a black shoulder length wig and a pair of glasses. On her way out Adam stepped in front of her.

"Where are you going, Chloe?"

"Out."

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"I think it's a great idea." Chloe tried to side step him but he moved with her.

"It might be dangerous out there."

"It might be dangerous in here too. For all I know one or more of the people here could be right in the thick of things. Look, Rourke has probably fled the country by now and I'm not going to spend the rest of my life hiding from these bastards. Now are you going to get out of my way or am I going to have to introduce you to Mr. Sparky!?"

"Let me go with you."

Chloe brushed past him. "I don't need a damned babysitter! I'll be fine!"

Adam watched her enter the stairwell. He waited a few minutes then followed after her.

Outside it was sunny but chilly. At first Chloe felt some apprehension but as she walked down the sidewalk and no bullets tore holes in her she began to relax. It felt good to be outside and away from all the people she let down. She felt a sense of freedom.

Chloe stopped at a small restaurant and ordered fish and chips. As she enjoyed her lunch she sadly contemplated her purse. She had patched the bullet holes from the inside with duct tape and it looked pretty tacky. Time for a new purse.

After wandering past several shops Chloe spotted a large clothing store and went in. She stopped to admire several outfits on her way to the purses. This store had some nice things. She might have to come back later. Right now she didn't want to be burdened down with a lot of bags. Maybe she should have brought Adam after all she thought perversely. It would serve him right.

After examining several purses she purchased a large brown leather one. Outside she transferred all the items from the old to the new before tossing the old on into a dumpster. A quick glance at her watch. Time to head back.

She just started walking back when her new purse chirped. Irritated she opened it an pulled out her blue cell phone. "O'Brian."

"Chloe my love! It's been so long since we've had a chance to chat!"

The chill Chloe felt had nothing to do with the November breeze.

"I like the outfit." He went on. "But you really should wear a longer skirt. When you sat down for lunch I could see the big ugly scab on your knee. Very unattractive."

Chloe began to look around frantically for anyone who looked like Rourke or who might be speaking on a phone. She saw no one.

"And I see you got a new purse, personally I thought the blue one went with your outfit and the white one made a nice contrast but you went with the brown leather. I suppose leather is durable and easy to clean. You do seem to be the practical type."

"So did you call just to discuss women's fashions? What do you want?"

"Well I don't want to put a bullet in your head, at least not today. If I did I could have done so dozens of times. Twice I could have knifed you. I have to say you were very brave yesterday. It is so difficult in this jaded age to find someone so willing to lay down her life for Queen and Country. Ah! But I forget. She's not your Queen. And it's not your country. Tell me, what's a nice Irish girl like you doing working for the British!?"

"I'm not really Irish, I'm American. Never been to Ireland or paid much attention to it. Frankly I couldn't even tell you who the President is."

"Ah yes! You Americans. So arrogant. Always going places you're not wanted. Sticking your noses in other people's business. Meddling in things you can't possibly understand!" The voice got angrier. "The goings on in Mexico were of no concern to America! Neither are the things happening here!"

"We're friends and allies. You attack my friends, you attack me."

"Are they really your friends? These are the same people who burned Washington!"

"No dummy, they burned Joan of Arc. George got away."

"The capital! Washington D.C.! They burned it in 1814! And don't forget Bloody Ban Tarleton murdering helpless American prisoners in 1780!"

"I've had time to get over it."

"Well we true Irishmen don't 'get over it.' We have nearly a millennium of grievances and will extract every last drop of blood and pain to pay them off. When both Britain and Ireland are drenched with fire, blood and tears, then people will truly understand!" Chloe just listened. If someone is ranting then let them. She's read and listened to a lot of terrorist propaganda over the years. Sometimes you can get some good information out of it.

"It's not going to work. Since the Belfast Agreement was signed in 1998 things have been rather quiet."

"I didn't sign any bloody agreement! And those who did will be the first to die! You don't destroy your enemies by signing pieces of paper! The true Irish patriots will rise up but there are millions who won't." The voice took a scornful tone. "They're too rich, happy, and peaceful to rise up against their oppressors! They will all have to support the new order or be eliminated!"

A lump rose in Chloe's throat. This was the dream of all tyrants. Robespierre, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam, create a new and perfect society on the ashes of the old. Those who don't fit in the new perfect society would have to be killed. Thinking like that had killed over 100 million people over the past century and accomplished nothing. The regimes that committed those atrocities were as dead as their countless victims. She didn't really believe Rourke would take over Ireland. But how many people would die before he failed? In spite of what she told him she did have a deep genetic love and loyalty to that little green island that her ancestors had fled from over two centuries ago and this man's plans for it horrified her. "We're going to stop you." She said. Her voice choked a little.

"I can't see any way you're ever going to stop me and do you know why?"

"Because you lack imagination?"

"No! Because you said 'we' and there is no 'we.' I heard what a splendid job you did with the MI-5 computer. Couldn't have done better myself. Heh, heh. Now don't look so surprised. You're good at finding out things and so am I. Do you really think you have any friends there after that? No, they all hate you. And I know what happened in America. All your friends gassed to death because you screwed up. You missed something. Let yourself be distracted. Took your eye off the ball. Your own country couldn't wait to get rid of you and they don't seem to be in any big hurry to get you back." The voice took on a mocking tone. "You're all alone. A woman without a country. No one trusts you or cares about you. The real reason I didn't kill you is because you're irrelevant. You're no longer worth the trouble. The only real friend you have left is me! Oh my! Look at the time! Got to run now! Places to go, people to kill. You know how it is. Heh! Heh! Heh! See you later." _(click)_

Chloe slowly lowered the phone but didn't put it away. Rourke was right. She was a failure. She tried to help but only made things worse. CTU didn't want her. MI-5 didn't want her. She never fit in anywhere. Now she wasn't even worth the trouble of killing. Chloe shut her eyes and lowered her head. She really should go back to Thames House but why? She wasn't welcome there. She had nowhere to go. Might as well just stand here.

………………………………...

As Adam followed Chloe outside he very carefully hung back. He didn't want Chloe to spot him. Being an excellent field agent he was very good at becoming invisible when he had to. He didn't know why Chloe would want to go out alone only a day after an assassination attempt. Maybe she wanted to prove she still had some control over her life. Perhaps she felt guilty over the computer. She might even have a little bit of a death wish. Whatever the case he wasn't going to let her go out alone and unprotected.

As he followed her he watched the other people more than he watched Chloe. He was trying to see if anyone was paying special attention to her. Chloe was attractive enough to merit an occasional glance from passing men but nothing special. He also tried to sense the rhythm of the street. Some people were moving in and out of the area where Chloe was. Try to concentrate on the people lingering. Of course there was a good chance no one out here had any interest in Chloe but he didn't want to take that chance.

After Chloe entered the restaurant Adam walked by outside and glanced in. Chloe was sitting with her back to the wall facing the entrance and the window. At least she had some common sense. At that moment she was eating a piece of fried fish and looking at her purse. Adam sauntered past and crossed the street.

After a few minutes he saw Chloe leave the restaurant and wander down the street. As she stopped to look in a store window he saw another woman approaching her. He noticed this same woman outside the restaurant and his hand crept inside his jacket to his weapon but the woman passed only a couple of feet behind Chloe and kept walking. Adam relaxed.

Chloe looked into a couple of more store windows before entering a large clothing store. About 90 seconds later the other woman also went in. Adam trotted across the street and also entered. Chloe seemed to be wandering aimlessly looking at clothes. He couldn't see the other woman. Adam wandered casually into the men's section and glanced over at Chloe. She was looking at purses and the other woman was nearby looking at blouses. She slowly approached Chloe and for a few seconds they were standing back to back about a yard apart. Chloe selected a purse and headed to the register. The other woman ignored her. Was this just a coincidence or was she playing some kind of game? The other woman then started for the front of the store. There seemed something odd about the way she walked. She was going to pass nearby so Adam stepped up to a mirror and began combing his hair. As she went by he looked at her in the mirror. A very large Adam's apple. This was a man dressed as a woman. By itself that wasn't too suspicious. Like most western cities London had its share of transvestites. And this man hadn't done anything threatening. But coupled with everything else it set his teeth on edge.

Outside Chloe was doing something near a trash bin. Adam didn't care, he was looking for the man. There he is! Across the street stepping into an alley. The man in the dress stopped to twist a side mirror on a parked lorry before leaning against a wall out of sight of Chloe where he could watch her in the mirror. Adam was still across the street and he wandered down a bit before another glance at the man in the dress. He was speaking to someone on the phone. Adam wondered who he might be talking to, then he noticed Chloe was also talking on the phone. Could they be talking to each other? That was odd.

After the conversation the man left the alley and started walking directly away from Chloe. Adam decided to follow him. He had a feeling this man was Roarke. He considered putting him under arrest but decided against it. Sometimes it was better to leave the bad guy loose and follow him. He might just lead you somewhere interesting.

The suspect went a couple of blocks and got into a green Nissan. Adam looked around. A man and a woman had just parked a motorcycle and walked hand in hand into a movie theatre. What luck! They wouldn't report it stolen for nearly a couple of hours. Adam trotted over to the motorcycle, cut a couple of wires and twisted them together then kick started it. He pulled on the helmet from the rear view mirror. The afternoon traffic was a little thick as he followed the green Nissan near where he left Chloe. She was still standing in the same place with her head down and her eyes shut.

Adam knew where she was. Something Roarke said to her put her into the darkness. The same place Adam had been since that fateful day at the private airport where Fiona was gunned down right in front of him. Since then his work and his son had been the only things that kept him from sinking into despair. Just keep working. Try to feel useful. That was the only thing that kept the darkness at bay. Should he take her with him? This mission might be dangerous. They might both end up getting killed. Was it right to risk her life needlessly? He took another look at her. She hadn't moved. This might be the only thing that will pull her out. Adam knew from experience that some things are worse than dying. He wasn't even sure whether he really liked her or not but he couldn't just leave her to the dark.

He stopped the motorcycle in front of her. "Chloe."

She glanced up at him "Leave me alone." she said listlessly.

"Chloe, I've found Rourke. We need to follow him."

"I'm not a field agent."

"You're all I've got Chloe! He's getting away! Please Chloe, I don't think I can do this alone! You've got to help me!"

Chloe looked up at him. He noticed the old defiant spark back in her eyes. Without another word she pulled off the wig and glasses dropping them on the curb. She then pulled the extra helmet off the sissy bar, hiked up her skirt and got on the motorcycle behind him. Together they took off down the streets of London.


	14. You're Crazy!

**You're Crazy!**

**Chloe And The Mice **

**Chapter 14**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Authors note: Many thanks to the anonymous Briton who explained handbags and tills to me. Your help is really appreciated.

Chloe clung tightly to Adam's waist. She didn't really like motorcycles. But there were a lot of things she didn't like but had to put up with anyway. Adam's waist seemed pretty solid. Not much fat there. No! Keep your mind on the job.

"What did he say to you!?" Adam shouted over the rumble of the engine.

"Nothing! The usual ranting! Guy's in love with the sound of his own voice!"

Adam felt that there was more but if Chloe didn't want to share it he wouldn't push it.

Chloe kept her eyes glued to the Nissan which wasn't easy. Adam violated several traffic laws in following it. Sometimes he would tear down another street parallel to the Nissan. A couple of times he was in front of it and kept adjusting a mirror for Chloe. Chloe had over a decade's experience tracking vehicles through urban areas with satellites, traffic cameras, and drones and she was very good at it. This was different but it was also the same. Adam soon appreciated her powers of observation and concentration. In spite of her lack of familiarity with London she seemed to have an uncanny sense of traffic flow patterns and barked out orders almost without thought. Without her help he would have had to stay behind the Nissan and risk being spotted. Especially by an agent as experienced as Rourke. He had decided to take her along almost as an act of charity but now he wondered if he could have done it without her.

They were now behind a bus. Chloe was standing up on the bike's footrests with her hands gripping Adam's shoulders tightly looking though the bus's rear window, past all the people inside, and out the front windshield at the Nissan. Normally she would be worried about how dangerous that was and embarrassed about what her flapping skirt was exposing but at that moment her mind was totally focused. "He's pulling over to the left side of the road! We can still stay out of sight! Get over on the right side of the bus on my mark! Steady, steady, Now!"

Adam did as she said and kept the bus between them and the Nissan. He knew if Rourke saw the same motorcycle too many times he would get suspicious. Chloe kept standing, watching the car though the bus windows. Some of the passengers looked back at her. Probably thought she was some silly teenaged girl showing off with her boyfriend. The man in the dress parked the car and Adam swung around a corner and parked the motorcycle.

As they approached the corner Adam thrust his hand behind him. "Compact." Chloe pulled her compact out of her purse and put it in his hand. He opened it and used the small mirror to look around the corner. He watched the man in the dress walk into a small cabinet maker's shop. He then looked up and down the street. This was one of the more unsavory parts of the city and there weren't very many people out. Chloe took a hold of Adam's arm and they started strolling down the street like any other couple. As they walked both of them carefully scanned their surroundings looking for potential sentries. Neither one of them saw anything and as they passed the cabinet shop Adam glanced in and saw only one rather fat, balding man in there behind the counter.

Adam stopped. "I'm going in. Don't come in unless I call 'Jenny.' If I call 'Maggie' get out of here as fast as you can and call headquarters. Do the same if I don't call anything or come out in two minutes. Understand?"

Chloe nodded.

Adam went in the shop and approached the counter. He glanced around the shop. "Where is everybody? Don't you have any help?"

"Sent 'em all home. Don' have any orders and I can't afford to pay 'em to sit around on their lazy asses all day. Hit's the economy. Damned gu'iment don' care about the little guy. All they care about is lining their pockets with our tax money!"

"So where's the woman who just came in here?"

"Ain' no woman in here!"

"The man then!"

"Nobody came in."

Adam noticed the man's hand went under the counter and he quickly drew his own weapon. "Bring your hand out. Nice and empty." The fat man did as he was told. Adam walked around the counter and pushed him back. A quick glance underneath and he saw a black button. "What does the button do?"

"Hit summons the police!"

"Splendid! I'm rather fond of policemen." Adam looked around, it seemed safe enough. "Oh Jenny!"

Chloe came in the front door. Adam pressed his thumb into a crooked forefinger and twisted his wrist as if turning a key. Chloe nodded and locked the front door. She then flipped the closed sign around and started pulling the window shades down. Adam turned back to the fat man. "I'm going to ask again where the man or woman went. This will be the last time I ask nicely." The fat man just glared at him. "Watch him Jenny but try not to shoot him. We need him to talk."

"How about the kneecaps? You can talk without kneecaps."

"Sure, knock yourself out."

While Chloe kept the man covered Adam looked through the shop. The office was empty as was the small rest room. The back door had a bar on it along with a delicate cobweb with a live spider in the middle. No one came out that way. On a hunch Adam called out. "Jenny! Push the black button under the till!" After a few seconds he heard a low buzzing sound. As he suspected the shop owner warned the man away but where did he go?

Adam returned to Chloe and the fat man. "I know he was in here! Where did he go?!"

"I don' know what you're talkin' about."

Chloe put her gun away. "I guess we'll just have to send him to Gitmo."

"You can't do that! I ain' no damned raghead Ayrab! I'm a pure blooded Englishman!"

"Even pure blooded Englishmen can be terrorists. You guys attacked and nearly killed two American agents while conducting an act of terrorism. Under US law you can be captured in any country without extradition. You can be held as an unlawful enemy combatant for the duration of The War on Terror which could last for decades." Chloe began to pace nervously. "But I don't think you'd last that long. A nice plump white boy like you would be real popular on the yard. Especially with your attitude on, how did you put it? 'Damned raghead Ayrabs.'"

The man looked desperate. "But I had nothin' to do with that! I never even been to Mexico! You can't prove nothin'!"

"I never mentioned Mexico." Chloe looked over at Adam, "Did you mention Mexico?"

Adam made a show of looking up at the ceiling stroking his chin. "No, I don't believe I did."

"OK! OK! They pay me good money to use this place as a safe house and to keep my mouth shut! That's all! I just overheard them talking about Mexico once."

Adam grabbed him by the shirt collar and manhandled him toward the back of the shop. "I'm getting tired of asking the same question over and over! Where did he go!"

"The washroom! There's a trap door! Lift the floor tile under the toilet roll and you'll find the handle!"

Chloe once again held her pistol on the man while Adam flipped up the tile. It had a spring hinge on it and underneath was a metal handle. Adam pulled and a large section of floor opened to reveal a circular brick lined well with rusted metal ladder rungs set in the wall and going down into the darkness. He pointed his pistol into the pit and pulled a small torch out of his pocket with his left hand and shined it down. The hole appeared to be about six meters deep. Adam put the torch into his mouth and started climbing down the ladder.

"My grandad dug it in '40 back when the Jerries were bombing us." The fat man declared somewhat proudly. "He never told the neighbors because he didn't want them all crowding in. It was also a good hidin' place when they tried to conscript him inta the army."

"Wow, he sounds like a real patriot." Chloe said in a deadpan voice.

The fat man scowled. "He was a patriot! He woulda fought 'em if they came over here. He just didn't think is was smart to get killed fightin' for a bunch of Pollacks, Jews, and Frenchies.

"My hero." Chloe replied with the same deadpan voice.

At the bottom of the shaft Adam found a brick tunnel that stretched off in both directions. It appeared to be an unused 19th century sewer. He also found a wooden door which he opened very slowly and carefully checking for booby traps. He didn't find any but smelled the strong odor of ammonia bleach. He flicked the torchlight around the room before flicking on the light switch. The room was lit by a single bulb in the ceiling and was equipped with a cot, minifridge, hot plate and microwave oven. Near the door was a bucket of bleach with a dress and wig stuffed into it. Adam knew the bleach would destroy any DNA and it probably wasn't doing the dress much good either. He returned to the tunnel. He couldn't tell which way Rourke might have gone. London was an ancient city with hundreds of tunnels both old and new; Priest holes, steam tunnels, sewers. They lost him.

Adam climbed back up the ladder. "What's your name?" He asked the fat man.

"Harold York!"

"Well Harold York, do you happen to know where he might have gone?"

Harold swallowed, he looked extremely nervous. "No!"

"Well, I happen to think you're lying." He shoved Harold toward a buzz saw.

"I'm not lying!"

Adam pressed Harold's right hand against the board sitting on the table and turned the buzz saw on. "I'm going to cut your fingers off one by one until you tell me where he went!"

Harold's eyes bugged out as he saw his hand moving slowly toward the spinning blade. "You can't do this!" He shrieked. Sweat seemed to burst from his forehead. He turned his pleading eyes toward Chloe. "Jenny! Please! You've got to help!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I'll get a mop. Where do you keep your mops?"

"You're crazy! You're both crazy!" The saw was now an inch from his finger and getting closer. Harold's face was nearly purple. "His cousin John! I overheard him say something about visiting Cousin John! That's all I know I swear!" Adam released the hand and Harold fell on the floor sobbing. "You're crazy! You're both crazy!"

Adam called Thames House to have a team take over the building and take Mr. York into custody. After they arrived he escorted Chloe to the car that would take them back. "Chloe, nice bluff with the Gitmo threat." He grinned.

Chloe's expression remained serious. "I wasn't bluffing. I know how much you guys hate it when we snatch a terrorist over here but I also know the local CIA station doesn't really care what you guys think and I have their number on speed dial."

Adam pursed his lips. He better not mention that last part to Harry. No sense in upsetting the old boy.


	15. Counting Coup

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 15**

**Counting Coup**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Night had fallen over the City of London but at Thames House the lights still burned. Sitting at the conference table Chloe, Adam, Jo, and Zaf were listening to Ruth as she stood talking. "MI-6 have reluctantly sent us Rourke's complete file. They want to remind us that all the evidence against him is purely circumstantial and that he's to be taken alive for questioning, not killed." Chloe, who sat with her arms crossed tightly across her chest snorted. "The only evidence linking Rourke to the terrorist is that Chloe has spoken to the terrorist and can recognise his voice."

"I only spoke to him on the phone for a couple of minutes. I didn't date the son of a bitch!"

Ruth turned toward Chloe. 'But you can identify him if you heard the voice again?"

"I think so, maybe." She muttered.

"Well right now you're our only link. Now according to the records Kevin Rourke was born in the Irish Republic and moved to Belfast when he was 18. He joined the British Army serving in SAS for five years before being recruited by MI-6. He's always been a strong Unionist is spite of his catholic background and he's always had an outstanding career in both the Army and intelligence earning several commendations. What does that tell you?"

"That he must have had a real tough time pretending to be sane all these years?" Zaf offered.

"No!" Ruth replied. "It shows he has a very patient and disciplined mind. Time means nothing to this man. He will take all the time he needs to fulfill his plans." She turned to Chloe who was staring at a pencil that she was rolling back and forth on the table with her forefinger. "You've spoken to him. What kind of psychological assessment would you make?"

Chloe kept her eyes on the pencil. "I'm not real good with the whole psychobabble thing. He's evil and crazy. We put him away. Cage or coffin, makes no difference to me."

Ruth persisted. "He spoke to you twice. Why would he take that risk?"

"Because he's arrogant. He thinks he's smarter than the rest of us. Too smart to get caught."

Ruth nodded. "Go on."

"He knew we had his exact location but he insisted on killing our agents slowly by breaking their bones! If you want to kill somebody bullets work pretty darn good but he wanted them to die slowly, in agony and horror! And he wanted me to listen!"

"He didn't count on an analyst who was willing to break all the rules to protect her people." Adam said with a smile. Chloe stopped rolling the pencil but kept staring at it. The British agents noticed her ears turning a delicate shade of pink.

"And today?" Ruth asked.

"He wanted to brag about how he was stalking me. He said he could have knifed me twice."

"I can confirm that." Adam said. "I saw him within a yard of you twice."

Jo furrowed her brow. "What was he up to?"

Chloe shut her eyes briefly and thought about it. "He was counting coup." She opened her eyes to see three blank stares and an understanding nod from Ruth.

Zaf was puzzled. "Counting koo?"

"Yeah, it's something the Indians did. They would get close enough to an enemy to tap them with a stick then get away. It was to show off their bravery."

"It was more than that." Ruth said. "The plains Indians of North America used special coup sticks. They would approach the enemy either in battle or by stealth, tap them, then escape. It wasn't just a display of bravery but also dominance. 'I could have killed you but I didn't. I have power over you.' In a way Rourke was trying to establish his power and dominance over you Chloe." She noticed Chloe's eyes narrow and her jaw set with anger. "It was another display of his arrogance. The next time he encounters you he might just decide to eliminate you. If he captures you. . ."

"I know what he does to people he captures!" Chloe interrupted. "I'm not going to let that happen!"

"Breaking bones is another way he establishes dominance." Ruth declared. "Every broken bone makes the victim weaker and more helpless. By comparison the executioner becomes stronger and more powerful. He also displays sadistic tendencies. He likes his enemies to suffer before they die."

"He also tried to get me worked up over bad things the British did in the Revolution. Stuff nobody really cares about anymore."

"Ancient hatreds, most terrorism is based on ancient hatreds. Some people just can't let go." Ruth paused. "He served the British government for over 20 years while hanging on to his hatreds. He must find it liberating in a way to be on his own. To be the man he always wanted to be. Of course actually being in Six gave him access to resources that he no longer has."

"I'm not too sure about that." Chloe was back to rolling her pencil. "He knew about what I . . . What happened to the computer last night. I'm sure everyone in the building knows what happened but it's not in the press. I think he still has contacts."

"That's a sobering thought." Adam said.

"What I don't get is his whole plan is stupid." Zaf declared. "He wants to start a civil war and a dictatorship in Ireland? The British government would never allow it!"

"No, the government would never allow it." Ruth said. Then an unpleasant thought hit her. _'Not unless part of the plan was the overthrow of the British government . . . No! That's too horrible to even think about!'_ "I think he's planning a wave of terrorism to destabilise the Irish government and probably ours too. Whether his plan succeeds or not it will still cause untold death and misery. Mr. York mentioned a cousin John. According to his personnel file the only cousin he has named John is a third cousin named John Cosgrove who's the assistant manager of a Burger King in Toronto."

"Maybe he wants a cheeseburger?" Zaf said. "But it seems an awful long way to get one."

"He's got to know that we're watching the airports." Jo declared. "How does he plan to get to Canada?"

Adam scratched his chin. "I'm not sure he's going to Canada. It all might be a red herring."

"We have informed the Canadian government but we should assume he is still in the country." Ruth replied. "Now all we have to do is find him."

After the meeting concluded Chloe left the conference room only to bump into Colin who had been repairing the mainframe. He looked concerned. "Chloe, are you alright?" He placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

Chloe twisted loose. "I'm fine Colin." She noticed he looked a little hurt. "I'm sorry, What happened last night was wonderful. Just don't put anymore into it than that. Don't try to start a relationship with me. I'm not a very nice person. I'll only hurt you."

"Is it Jack?"

Chloe's eyes dropped. She suddenly seemed fascinated by a nearby photocopier. "Jack?"

"Last night you kept whispering his name while we . . ."

Her face turned bright pink. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. . . . I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright Chloe. I understand. He must be a very lucky man."

"No, Jack's about the unluckiest man I've ever met. And he's not my boyfriend or anything"

"He's got someone like you who loves and cares for him. That makes up for a lot of hard luck."

Chloe looked back into his eyes. "Colin, you're a good man. I don't think I really deserve anyone like you." She gave him a deep kiss then turned and walked away.

Adam went to check up on Malcolm. "Find out anything?"

"I haven't had much luck with the data base from Mnemosyne. It's all shipping invoices, an advert for an articulated lorry driver in Sheffield, warehouse space in Liverpool. Very dull stuff. So I decided to check up on Cousin John." Malcolm got a very satisfied smile. "Someone should inform Mr. Collingwood that the files he sent over are incomplete!"

That sparked Adam's interest. "You found another Cousin John!"

Malcolm looked like the cat that ate the canary. "Not exactly, I decided to go through birth records, baptismal records, and wedding records. I found a first cousin not mentioned in his file. Not Cousin John but Cousin Sean!" He patted his console affectionately. "The old girl's had a rough night but I think she's forgiven me! His name is Sean Monagle and I have everything you need to know right here."

Adam looked at the file. "I'll let Harry know. We'll go tonight. I think I'll take Jo and Chloe along. We'll have to drop in on Mr. Monagle and see if he has any visitors."

One hour later they were heading north on the M 1. Adam and Jo were sitting in the front of the car while Chloe dozed in the back seat. "So Sean Monagle lives in Leicester?" Jo asked.

"Not exactly, he lives just north of Leicester. He owns a place called Lakeview Farm. Several hundred acres. Grows quite a bit of corn out there."

Chloe suddenly jerked awake. "He's a farmer?!"

"Yes," Adam replied.

"Drive faster!"

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Terry Nichols was a farmer!"

Awareness crossed Adam's face. "Oh my God, I didn't think of that! You're right!" He changed gears and the car leaped forward past the speed limit.

"So who's Terry Nichols?" Jo asked. "The name's vaguely familiar but I can't seem to place it. And what does him being a farmer have to do with anything?"

Chloe scowled. How can anybody not know who Terry Nichols was? "Terry Nichols was one of the Oklahoma City bombers." Chloe explained in her rather annoying patronizing tone. "The Oklahoma City bomb was made out of nitrate fertilizer and diesel fuel. Things that farmers can buy large amounts of without suspicion."

Jo put her hand up to her mouth. She was getting a bad feeling about this.

Adam parked the car near the lake close to Lakeview Farm. It wasn't really much of a lake, rather small and unimpressive. The night was lit by only a half moon The three of them moved into a small grove of trees. Adam pulled out a pair of binoculars and studied the farm. Lights were on in both the farmhouse and the large barn. Adam handed the binoculars and car keys to Jo. "You stay here and keep watch. Chloe, you come with me. We'll go to the barn first and let me know if you hear Rourke's voice." Both women nodded and Adam and Chloe crossed the field slowly trying to avoid being seen.

When they reached the barn the two of them crouched under a window listening. They didn't hear any voices or anything at all. Adam cautiously peeked though the window. "It appears empty." He looked around and found a large loose board which he managed to pry loose. He went in first and Chloe followed.

The first thing Chloe saw was the 18 wheeler parked inside the barn. It was enormous and dominated the barn's interior. She decided to take a closer look. The cab was dark blue and smelled of fresh paint. It looked much like an American truck with a large sleeper behind the cab. She squinted. When the light hit the door just right she could just see the old lettering under the paint.

MNEMOSYNE

Shipping And Export Company.

Adam went around to the back of the articulated lorry to inspect the trailer. The doors were ajar so he carefully opened them. Inside the trailer was packed with blue plastic barrels stacked two high and completely filling the trailer. The barrels all had wires attached. The Oklahoma City bomb used a small rental lorry. This had to be at least five times as big. This was big enough to rip the heart out of a city. "Chloe," he whispered. "Get back here." Chloe trotted to the back of the trailer and gasped at the bomb inside. Adam looked out the window at the farmhouse and saw about ten men leave it and begin walking to the barn chattering with each other. They had perhaps four minutes. He dashed back to the rear of the trailer and cupped his hands for Chloe. "We have maybe four minutes. See if you can disarm it." Chloe climbed into the back of the trailer and Adam stepped back. Just then he saw something move swiftly down his line of vision. He thrust an arm up just in time to block the garrote. His right hand was pinned against his throat but at least he wasn't being strangled. His would be killer yanked him backwards off his feet.

Inside the trailer Chloe heard the attack. She turned to see a muscular blond man pulling Adam around the side of the trailer. She started to jump out but Adam gasped. "Don't mind me! I can handle this! Disarm it!"

Chloe turned around to look at the bomb. _'Shit!' _She thought. _'Adam's fighting a guy twice his size. If he finishes Adam off he just might want me for desert. I've got maybe three and a half minutes before this barn is crawling with terrorists and I can't let them take me alive. This thing's big and complex. Probably booby trapped. Why is it that just because you're a genius, people automatically assume you know how to do everything? If I screw this up thousands could die. THIS ISN'T STRESSFULL AT ALL!' _Her heart was pounding in terror and her hands were sweating. There wasn't any way in Hell she was going to disarm this bomb. At least not by herself. She wiped her hands on her blue wool skirt and pulled her small blue cell phone out of her jacket pocket.

Jo Portman was watching the barn and farmhouse. She noticed a large group of men leave the farmhouse and head to the barn. She pulled her cell phone out to warn Adam. Then she heard a voice behind her.

"Well looky here!"

She turned and saw two rough looking men with shotguns pointed at her. They had her covered.

"Looks like we got us a spy! Should we take her to see the boss?" One man kept her covered while the other one searched her taking her phone, keys and weapon. He then put her hands behind her back, tore off a strip of duct tape and wrapped it around her wrists before hauling her to her feet.

"No! Not tonight. He's got too much on his mind and by tomorrow nobody's going to care about this little girl."

"Well, I don't wanta have to dig another grave!"

"I'm with the Leicester police!" Jo declared. "We know everything about this place! Let me go and it will go easier on you."

The man holding her arm grinned. "I don't think so girlie!" He spotted the car and started dragging Jo towards it. "We won't need to dig any graves tonight." He opened the car's boot.

"No! You can't!" Jo began to struggle frantically.

"Here! Give me a hand!" The two men picked Jo up and tossed her into the boot before slamming it shut. One of them went around to the driver's side and opened the door. He set the car into neutral and the two grinning men, ignoring the loud screams from the boot, pushed it into the lake. Jo's screams faded as the car slowly sank into the murky water After a couple of minutes all that could be seen were bubbles rippling on the surface.

Authors note: Many thanks to Rachael (Exotic Rooftile) for answering some questions I had about articulated lorries and the British trucking industry. Your help is greatly appreciated.


	16. Never Give In

**Never Give In**

**Chloe and the Mice**

**Chapter 16**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Adam was completely surprised by the attack. Only his quick reflexes kept him from being strangled. When he noticed Chloe about to help him he ordered her to stick to her task. Disarming the bomb took top priority. He didn't know what Chloe could have done against this gorilla but shoot him and any shots would alert the men outside. This guy hadn't shouted for help. Either he didn't know they were out there or he wanted to show off by killing Adam himself. Adam knew that machismo can be a deadly weakness.

At the moment however, Adam was at the disadvantage. He knew he only had a few minutes to finish this guy off before a whole mob of armed terrorists came in the door. If that happened it's game over. The man dragged Adam up toward the driver's cabin. Suddenly Adam brought both his feet up and kicked one of the lorry's tyres. His assailant stumbled backwards then toppled on his back still clutching Adam to his chest. The impact loosened his grip on the garrote and Adam managed to get loose. He sprang to his feet but the blond terrorist was almost as fast. He grinned at Adam and sprang forward grabbing Adam's jacket and tried to pull him back with his powerful grip. Adam jerked back and with a sound of tearing cloth was free.

The terrorist sidestepped to a wall with a large number of tools hanging on it and Adam backed into a workbench. A quick glance. About the only thing in reach was a power drill still plugged in to an extension cord. As he reached for it he caught a sudden blur and yanked his arm back just before the hatchet nearly removed it chopping the extension cord in two. The blond man grunted in frustration pulling the hatchet free from the wood as Adam rolled away. He found a hose attached to a spray nozzle with a soap bottle attached. Of course. They had to clean the lorry before repainting it. He grabbed it and sprayed a stream of soapy water at the terrorist. His opponent only smiled in contempt and moved toward him. Adam dodged to his right and the terrorist tried to change direction only to slip in the soapy water. He didn't quite fall but the second it took him to regain his balance was enough for Adam to get past him back to the workbench. The blond man then swung the hatchet in a horizonal arc at his head. Adam ducked as it whizzed over his head then before his enemy could recover Adam hopped up so he was sitting on the work bench, grabbed the cut extension cord and thrust the bare wires into the sopping wet terrorist's chest. There was a crackling popping noise and steam rose from the man's chest as all his muscles tightened. He fell over backwards like a toppling tree. Adam tossed the extension cord back on the table and leaped down to check on him.

He was still breathing. It was his first good look at his opponent and Adam was shocked. In spite of his size this guy wasn't much more than a kid, 17, maybe 18 tops. _'Poor kid,' _Adam thought. _'What a shame.' _He brought his boot up and stomped on the unconscious boy's throat as hard as he could.

The wet soapy floor made it easier to move the body. Adam dragged it to a corner and threw a tarp over it. He could hear voices outside and the jingle of keys. Time's up. He kicked the hatchet under the workbench and did another quick squirt of water to hide the drag marks. As Adam rushed to the rear of the trailer he whispered loudly "Time to go!" Chloe hurled herself out and sprawled on the floor in a most unladylike fashion but quickly got up and sprinted to the rear of the barn and the loose board. The front door of the barn opened just as they slipped behind some boxes.

"Here now! What's with all this water on the floor!?"

"Well, you did tell Bert to clean up the barn!" This last remark was greeted with a round of laughter.

"Where is that boy? He's supposed to be watching the lorry. Bert! Bert!"

"Probably got bored and wandered off again."

"Yeah Sean, that boy of yours might be loyal to the cause but he's got the attention span of a goldfish. Heh! Heh! Heh!"

Chloe, who had just got her head and one arm through the hole suddenly pulled back and before Adam could stop her she belly crawled the edge of the boxes and peered around them.

"So Sean, are you glad you kept your lorry license all these years?"

"Well it always paid more than farming!"

Chloe scooted back. "Red plaid shirt, blue jeans, black sneakers, it's him." she whispered. As Chloe was crawling through the hole Adam went on his belly and peeped around the boxes.

"Are you sure you don't want to take it all the way? You just might just get those 72 virgins I keep hearing about!" The man Chloe described was speaking. It was definitely Kevin Rourke.

"Not on yer life! I wouldn't want to have to break them all in! Offer me 72 sluts and I might reconsider!" This caused another round of laughter. The man speaking was a large blond man with a ponytail and goatee. He looked like what the boy would have if fate and Adam Carter had given him another 20 years. Adam quickly followed Chloe through the hole.

"Roger, you ride shotgun. The rest of you scatter. We'll meet at the rendezvous."

Adam and Chloe snuck back to the small grove of trees. When they got there they heard the rumble of a diesel engine starting. Chloe thrust her hand at Adam. "Gimme your phone!"

Adam reached for his phone only to find a torn jacket pocket. "I lost it in the barn."

"Shit! I'll have to use Jo's. Where the hell is she anyway?"

Adam looked around. She was supposed to be here but she wasn't. Terror rose in his heart. He can't lose her! Not Jo too!

---------------------------------------------------------o------o---------------------------------------------------------

o

When Jo was tossed into the boot, she landed on her left side on the tool box making her grunt in pain. When they slammed the lid shut she began squirming around screaming as loud as she could. She didn't want the goons to hear any suspicious noises as she fumbled with the latches on the tool box. Jo quickly discovered that when you're locked in a boot getting shoved into a lake, screaming real loudly in terror is actually quite easy. She got one latch open then twisted and shoved her way to the second latch. She managed to get the top off and during a particularly loud scream flipped the top tray over spilling all the little nuts, bolts, screws, and screwdrivers on the floor. Inside the box she fumbled for the hacksaw, shifted it so the blade was facing up, and began sawing the duct tape over her wrists back and forth keeping up the screams for the benefit of the two men pushing the car. By the time the car actually entered the water her wrists were free.

Jo flipped herself around so that she was facing the tool box. The car rocked gently. The doors must be shut and the windows up. It won't make the car float but it will sink slower. The passenger compartment, the boot, even the gas tank are all air pockets. The car will sink nose first. The engine is the heaviest part and no air pockets up there. She fumbled in the dark until she found the small torch and flicked it on. At least now she had light. She was glad they were too stupid to take the tool box out. If Laurel and Hardy out there had the brains God gave a hamster they would realise that with the proper tools, a locked boot is easier to open from the inside than the outside.

The car tilted forward and water started gushing in through the weather seals. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary! That water's cold! Her fingers fumbled as she tried to open the socket wrench case. _'Calm down! I have nothing to fear but fear itself. Oh! And drowning!' _She picked out a socket and tried to fit it over one of the three latch mechanism bolts. Too small! She dropped it on the floor and grabbed the next one. The tool box was completely underwater by this time and the water was rising rapidly The car quickly bumped and settled. The lake wasn't very deep. This one fit so she put it on the wrench and started working on the first bolt. _'Righty tighty, lefty loosey.' _By the time she got it off the water was up to her chin so Jo took one last deep breath of air. Only two more. The water was unbelievably cold. It felt like thousands of needles poking into her body. _'If only I joined MI-6, I might have got one of those James Bond cars that turn into submarines. Good Lord! The things that go through your head at times like this!' _Finally she got the second bolt off. Her lungs were aching and her hands were numb. She dropped the socket wrench. Oh dear God no! Her numb hands clumsily fumbled for it then picked it back up. Jo's blond hair floated like a cloud around her head as she set to work on the last bolt. Her terror was mounting and her lungs burned like fire. This one seemed harder than the others. Maybe she was just getting weaker. The final bolt came out and the boot's lid went up but only by an inch. Jo heaved on it with all her remaining strength to no avail. By the dim light of the torch she could see it was held down by two small insulated wires. Jo had no strength left. She could barely move. _'It's not fair! I tried so hard! I got so close!' _She slumped in the boot. Her lungs were screaming for air and her head felt dizzy. She could feel her body shutting down. She was dying and she knew it. _' I can't do this anymore. Just blow out the bad air and inhale. Drowning isn't so bad is it?'_

"Never give in--never, never, never, never in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in!"

Jo slowly raised her head. _'Winston Churchill? What are you doing down here?'_

"I'm here for you Jo! You've got to fight!"

'_You're just a hallucination. My brain's running out of oxygen. You're not real.'_

"You're almost there Jo! Never surrender! Never give up!"

'_I'm sorry, I can't. I'm all used up Winston. I just want to die. You're dead. It's really not so bad is it?'_

"You're just being selfish Jo! It's not just about you. The fate of the Nation is at stake. I've always loved this country and I know you do too! Do it for England!"

'_Yeah, yeah, do it for England.' _Jo fumbled in the tool box. She couldn't even feel her hands anymore. _'Just quit nagging me Winston!' _She found some wire cutters. Her hands were incredibly clumsy. It was like working with boxing gloves on. She had to hold them with both hands. Jo brought them up and squeezed them together cutting the first wire. She then moved them over and cut the second wire. The boot's lid flew up and the last bits of air bubbled up. With her last trace of strength Jo kicked up to the surface.

Her head broke the surface and inhaling the cool sweet night air was the most glorious ecstatic feeling Jo had ever felt in her life. She half expected to inhale a load of buckshot too but nothing happened. Dumb and Dumber must have moved on. Just to be safe she took a deep breath, submerged, and swam underwater as far as she could in her weakened state. She came back up and swam to the shore.

Jo was a very beautiful woman with sharp, defined cheekbones. She probably could have gone into modeling if she hadn't decided on a journalism career. She was very aware of her beauty and always liked to make sure her hair, clothes and make up were perfect. A girly girl as Zaf sometimes called her. She would be the first to admit that she was a little vain. OK, a lot vain, but Jo always figured that every girl's entitled to one deadly sin. She was also very proud of her fingernails. They were perfectly shaped, manicured and painted the perfect shade of pink and she was normally very protective of them. Right now those perfect nails were clawing through wet, muddy gravel and she couldn't care less about them as she dragged herself up the shore. She was shivering in the chilly night and she kept her teeth clenched to keep them from chattering. She was afraid Beevis and Butthead might hear her and decide she might sink better with a few holes in her. Jo crawled under some bushes and just lay there looking around shivering violently. Hyperthermia was still a very real threat. She had to get warm somewhere or die.

Jo saw something in the small grove. Movement. Two figures. She tried to keep silent. Was it Goofus and Doofus? She tried to focus in the dark. One of the figures stepped away from the other. It looked like it was wearing a skirt. That must be Chloe. Jo was still afraid to call out with all the terrorists running around here. She tried to get up but couldn't. Jo crawled to a nearby tree and grasping it with her numb hands, pulled herself to her feet. She couldn't even feel her feet, her legs didn't seem to want to work properly as she stumbled to the grove. Adam was there. She would always feel safe with Adam.

Adam heard it first. Someone was coming and they weren't being very stealthy. He and Chloe both pulled their pistols and aimed them at Jo as she stumbled up.

"Jo, what happened?"

"Have you been swimming?" Chloe asked. "It's kind of cold to be swimming."

Adam clutched Jo closely sharing his body heat. Chloe took off her jacket and put it around her. Adam then took off his own jacket and put it on over Chloe's.

"There were sentries." Jo gasped. "They put me in the boot." Adam's fists tightened in anger.

Chloe saw the truck pulling out of the barn. "We've got to find a phone fast!"

In the pre dawn glow Adam spotted a farmhouse in the distance. "Come on!"

They started for the farmhouse. It was soon apparent that Jo couldn't keep up. Adam hoisted her on his back as he and Chloe ran to the farmhouse as fast as they could manage. They had to wade though a creek. The cold water reached halfway up their thighs. As they stumbled up a small hill to the farmhouse, Chloe, being unburdened, got there first. She didn't waste time knocking but picked up a ceramic frog out of the garden and heaved it though the window of the back door. She reached through the window and unlocked the door.

"Hey! What's going on down there!" A gruff voice called from upstairs.

"Police emergency! We've got to use your phone!" Chloe called out.

By the time Adam arrived with Jo a man and woman in their fifties were coming down the stairs. "You can't just go around destroying private property! I don't care if you are with the police!" The man growled angrily.

Chloe ignored him. "Where do you think the truck is now?!" She asked Adam. She turned on all four burners on the gas stove to heat things up for Jo.

"Depends on where they're going." Adam pondered for a couple of seconds. "They're heading north, to Sheffield. There was an advert for a lorry driver there. These guys aren't suicide bombers. They'll get some poor Aunt Sally to drive the lorry to its target." He thought about the layout of the area, roads and directions. "They'll have to circle around and go through town, that'll slow them down." He looked out the window at a nearby hill. "Does that hill overlook the road to the highway!?"

"Yes it does!" The farmer answered.

"Oh you poor dear!" His wife exclaimed when she saw Jo shivering. She was experiencing the pins and needles of returning circulation to her extremities.

"Do you have a rifle!?" Adam asked.

"I've got all the proper permits! Let me get them."

"I don't care about your damned permits! Just get me the rifle and some ammunition!" Adam pushed the man upstairs to get him to move faster.

"Do you have a cell phone?" Chloe asked the woman.

"Yes, I think I left it at my sister's house."

Adam came barreling down the stairs with a rather elderly Enfield rifle that had to be a veteran of at least one if not both World Wars. "We've got to call headquarters!"

"No!" Chloe replied. "It's too late! There's nothing they can do!" She scribbled a number on a notepad near the kitchen phone. "Jo! When I blink the truck headlights call this number!"

"Who is it?" Jo asked, but Chloe had already scooped up the keys off the counter and ran out the door with Adam.

"Hey! You just can't barge into a man's home and take his rifle and lorry like that!"

Chloe jumped into the drivers seat and started the farm truck as Adam climbed in the passenger side. She headed for a wooden fence between them and the hill accelerating until she smashed through it.

"Hey! You can't do that to my fence!"

Chloe gunned the truck up the hill and stopped at the top spinning it around so it faced the farmhouse. She and Adam got out and looked down. In the light of the dawn she could see the small town with the truck just now leaving it. It was still too close to the town. They must have stopped for fuel. Good. There was a short stretch of road before it connected with the M 1. Adam got down on his belly and carefully aimed the rifle.

"I can hit the passenger but not the driver."

"Never mind that. Shoot the tire on that bread truck behind it."

"Why?"

"It's too close! Just do it!"

Adam carefully aimed at the bread lorry. He had spent 9 weeks training with the Royal Marine Snipers and he was an excellent shot but shooting the tyre of a moving vehicle is very difficult and he was using iron sights on an unfamiliar rifle. His first shot missed. Then the second. The third shot blew out the front tyre and the bread lorry slowed down and pulled over.

Chloe smiled then the smile turned into a look of horror when she noticed that two cars had left the M 1 while she was distracted by the bread truck and were headed to the truck bomb. They were too close! She made quick calculations in her head. The truck bomb will reach the M 1 in about a minute. It was one of Britain's busiest highways and if it got there it would only be worse. If it reached a town the carnage would be unthinkable. It was now or never. She reached through the window of the farm truck and grabbed the headlight knob. She shut her eyes and tears welled in her eyes as she pulled it in and out. She tried not to think about the people in those two little cars. The innocent people she was murdering.

Jo saw the farm lorry's headlamps blink and dialed the number Chloe gave her. She wondered who would answer.

_In the cool darkness a small blue cell phone made a brief chirp, then ceased to exist._

The explosion was gigantic. It was actually big enough to make a small mushroom cloud. Adam's jaw dropped and he covered his ears and head before the sound of the blast hit them. Even at this distance shrapnel could be deadly. After the debris settled he stood up. The lorry had completely disappeared leaving a large crater in the road. The two small cars were now burning heaps of wreckage. Chloe was slumped against the door of the farm lorry with tears flowing freely down her grimy cheeks. She was sobbing "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." over and over.

Ten minutes later Jo made it to the top of the hill. Chloe had her face buried in her hands sobbing. "I couldn't disarm the bomb. I didn't know how. I wasn't good enough. I couldn't stop it from going off. All I could do was set it off early. I've got innocent blood on my hands because I wasn't good enough!"

Jo looked down the hill at the burning wreckage and saw what was left of the two cars and understood. "Where's Roarke?" She asked Adam.

"I don't know, he got away."

"What about Mr. Monagle?

"You're breathing him."


	17. Am I A Good Person?

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 17**

**Am I A Good Person?**

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It only took about 40 minutes for the Army to arrive. Mushroom clouds do tend to attract attention from the military. When the helicopters arrived Chloe ignored them. She was still slumped against the farm truck ignoring everything. Adam had to explain the situation to the men in the radiation suits checking the area with Geiger counters. Jo had been unable to contact Thames House because the farmhouse's phones and electricity went out the instant the bomb went off so Adam used the situation to check in.

"Are you sure Rourke wasn't in the lorry?" Harry's voice had a tone of frustration.

"Yes, the driver was Sean Monagle and the passenger was named Roger." Adam replied.

"Is your team OK?"

"Pretty much, they tried to drown Jo in the car's boot but she managed to get out. I have her in the lorry warming up. As for Chloe, well, she had to set the bomb off prematurely. Some civilians were killed and it seems to have hit her pretty hard."

"Very well." Harry's voice had a touch of concern. "I'll have the Army fly you back to London. I expect a full report when you get back. What was the target?"

"Unknown."

Adam approached Chloe, "Get up Chloe, it's time to go." He said in a soft voice. She ignored him and just kept sitting there staring into the distance. "Chloe, are you OK?"

"Go away!"

Jo sat down next to Chloe and put an arm around her. "It's alright Chloe, we won't leave until you're ready."

Chloe twisted away. "I don't need your sympathy! I'll go! Just don't talk to me!"

Chloe didn't speak to anyone as they got into the army helicopter and took off. As they were flying over the site she noticed nearly all the windows at the edge of town nearest the blast were shattered. She also saw some rescue workers about half a mile from ground zero loading a shrouded body into the back of an ambulance. Another one. More blood on her hands. She closed her eyes trying to shut herself off from the horrors she created. Jo and Adam kept speaking in soft voices the whole way back. Maybe they were trying to talk to her. She didn't know and didn't care.

At Thames House Chloe just went in and sat down. She was still covered with dust and soot from the explosion. Her hair still had debris that she didn't bother to brush out. She shut her eyes and tried to keep the tears from flowing. _'Maybe I ought to just quit and become a nun.' _She thought. _'Do you have to be really religious to be a nun? Are there any convents that accept evil bitchy murderers? The worst part is under the same circumstances I would do the same thing over again.'_

"Adam, I have the casualty list from the explosion." Ruth's voice penetrated Chloe's conscience. Without a word she got up, strode over to Ruth and snatched the paper from her hand. The list was only preliminary. The bodies won't be officially identified until the dental and DNA records are checked. It was a list of names, ages, and places of residence. Seven people, she murdered seven people. She didn't count Sean Monagle or Roger (Last name, age, and address unknown) in the total. Those two shits got better than they deserved and could burn in Hell for all she cared but there were others. Chloe made a choking sound and thrust the list at Adam. Let him know who she really was. Let everybody know. Child murderer. Baby killer.

Adam scanned the list. "Chloe, you did the right thing. You didn't have a choice. Come on now, Harry wants us to report in"

Chloe entered the office with Adam and Jo who had evidently taken the time to shower and change into a sweat suit. Adam did most of the talking with Jo describing her capture, trip to the bottom of the lake, and escape with the help of a spanner and some wire cutters leaving out her conversation with Winston Churchill of course. Chloe remained silent with her eyes downcast.

Finally Harry looked over at her. "Chloe, do you have anything to report?"

"Yeah, I have something to report." She replied in a dull monotone. "I was supposed to disarm the bomb but I couldn't do it. I didn't know how. I failed. So I wired my cell phone to one of the detonators. I planned to use Adam's phone to detonate it in the barn. Neither Adam or Jo still had their phones. I failed again. By the time we got to a working phone the truck was already underway. I waited until it got clear of town and set it off. I knew there were civilians down there but I set it off anyway. I murdered seven innocent people. Two of them were children. ANN CARLSON WAS A FIFTEEN MONTH OLD BABY AND I BURNED HER ALIVE STILL STRAPPED TO HER BOOSTER SEAT! HER BROTHER, LOUIS WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND I BLEW HIM TO PIECES!" Chloe was openly sobbing now. Her soul was wracked with grief. "I killed their parents, James and Sally. I killed another couple, Mohammed and Raza Malik. Virginia Collins was out jogging. I killed her." Chloe couldn't speak anymore. She just stood there waiting for their condemnation, their hatred, their contempt.

"I'm the one who actually dialed the number." Jo said.

"You didn't know what it was! You were just a tool like the phone or the headlights. I'm the only one who knew what was going to happen."

Harry's voice was concerned. "Disarming a bomb the size of a small house in three minutes would be difficult even for an expert. You are not an explosives expert. You did the best you could under the circumstances. I don't know what you could have done differently."

"I could have set the bomb off in the barn manually. It would have killed me and Adam but it would have spared everyone else and taken out the entire cell."

"Out of the question! Suicide bombing is not a tactic we use around here! We leave that to our opponents. Your original plan was good. As far as you knew Adam still had his phone. You would have killed yourself and Adam for no reason."

"Then I should have set it off earlier. I would have killed the bread truck driver and probably Miss Collins but the others would have probably survived."

Harry could see that Chloe was overcome with grief. He could lose her entirely. One thing he picked up from her over the past few days was that she had a lot of pent up hostility inside her. It might be enough to bring her back.

"Woulda! Coulda! Shoulda! Is that the American spirit these days?! George Washington lost eight battles and only won three! Do you think he spent all his time moping about how he should have done this or could have done that! You think the men he lost didn't weigh on his mind? Did he spend all his time crying like a little girl? No!" He noticed Chloe's eyes fix on him and narrow. She was getting angry at him. Good.

Harry continued. " He picked himself back up after every defeat and soldiered on! We're fighting a war and we're not going to win every battle. That bomb was going to go off regardless of anything we could do. You just chose to set it off where it would cause the least number of casualties. Unless you've been mixing fertilizer and diesel fuel in your spare time you didn't kill anybody! Yes, Ann and Louis were killed but they spared the lives of possibly hundreds of other children. The fact that you're so upset shows that you're not a murderer. No amount of whining on your part is going to change that!" Chloe was getting very angry. Time to redirect it. "Do you know who isn't shedding any tears for little Annie Carlson? Rourke and his buddies. If they're shedding any tears it's because only seven people died instead of seven thousand! I will not tolerate any second guessing from any of my agents! We do the best we can and move on! Do you think it's hard to die for your country. Well it's not. Millions of people have died for their countries. The hard thing is to live for your country. Just to pick yourself up and keep trying. If you decide to get all wobbly on me I'll have you back on the first jet to LA. and I don't care what Director Hayes thinks about it! Otherwise we still need your help nailing these murdering bastards!"

"OK, I'll get back to work. I'm sorry."

As they filed out of the office Chloe had mixed feelings. She still mourned those who were killed but decided to let it give her more determination, more focus. Also even though Harry just gave her a good reaming out he also called her one of his agents. She wasn't the outsider anymore. The CTU troublemaker grudgingly accepted for temporary duty. She belonged.

Chloe entered the tech room where Malcolm and Colin were working together trying to put the mainframe back together. Colin stood up. "Chloe, I heard about the explosion. Are you OK?"

Chloe walked up to him and put her finger on his lips. "Don't. Don't talk to me. Don't try to kiss me. Don't try to cop a feel or put any special meaning to this. Just hold me. I need somebody to hold me." She pressed her filthy sweater against his clean one and buried her dirty tear streaked face in his chest. For long minutes he just held her, gently brushing bomb debris out of her hair with his fingers. He could feel her trembling and the ragged breath against his chest. "Am I a good person? Please tell me I'm a good person."

"Yes Chloe, you're a good person. A very good person. One of the best."

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Author's note: I love feedback so if you like it, hate it, or are completely indifferent, click that little button on the bottom and let me know exactly what you think.


	18. I Reject Your Reality

**I Reject Your Reality**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 18**

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**Authors note: Again I would like to thank Rachael (Exotic Rooftile) for her help. I'm always willing to accept good advice and tips from a clever young lady. Even if she is only one third my age. Jools Siviter was played by Hugh Laurie (Dr. House). So just imagine Dr. House as a well groomed snooty Englishman and there he is. And I love reviews, even the bad ones.**

Harry, Jo, Chloe, Colin, Zaf, Malcolm and Jo were all seated around the table in the conference room. "Are you sure you don't remember anything more about those two men?" Harry was asking Jo.

"I'm sorry. It was dark. I was scared. I only saw them for a few minutes."

"Well it's the best lead we have at the moment. Those two were very sloppy in their murder attempt and while I don't tolerate sloppiness in my agents I cheer and applaud it among our adversaries. Any ideas?"

Chloe was only half listening. They had found another body. Peggy Doolittle, age 76, was badly slashed by a shattering window and bled to death. Chloe was thinking about a terrified old woman lying on her floor with her life slowly draining out. Trying to crawl to the phone. There was also a couple dozen injured.

"We could try hypnotizing Jo to remember more about those guys." Colin offered.

"That's a good idea!" Zaf said.

"No Colin, that's a stupid idea!" Chloe said sourly. "That hypnosis hocus pocus is a load of crap! We might as well do a voodoo dance!"

Zaf glanced between the two of them. He knew they had a relationship of some kind but apparently that didn't spare Colin from her snarky attitude. "No, it works. I saw it on Mythbusters once."

Chloe furrowed her brow. "I must have missed that episode."

"It doesn't work in the real world does it?" Malcolm asked skeptically.

"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" Zaf replied. "We'll try it and if it doesn't work we'll use Chloe's suggestion and do a voodoo dance."

"That wasn't a suggestion!" Chloe was clearly irritated.

"Don't be so modest Chloe. We'll see to it that you get full credit." Zaf had a mischievous smile. " But first there has to be a hypnotist with a top secret clearance somewhere in this town."

Chloe looked thoughtful. "If it's good enough for the Mythbusters it's good enough for me."

Harry looked skeptical but nodded. "Very well, I'll pull some strings and see who I can find."

As they left the conference room Jo approached Chloe. "You're still upset aren't you?"

Chloe scowled at her. "Yeah, I'm upset. They made me kill a bunch of civilians. I'm no better than they are."

"Yes you are Chloe. You're better because you know that those were real people. They had real lives, families and people who loved them. For Rourke's gang they're just abstractions, not quite real. They're nothing but pawns in a twisted political game. You were forced to sacrifice them to save others but for you they were a real sacrifice. Rourke sees them as numbers, a way to keep score, but for you each one is infinitely valueable. That pain we feel is what makes us better than them. It's the price we have to pay."

Chloe gave Jo a glum look. "You sure have a way with words. You must have been a very good reporter."

Jo gave Chloe a tight lipped smile. "I was a great reporter."

Chloe sighed. "Thanks for the pep talk. Maybe after this is over we can get together and chat a bit."

"Maybe paint each other's toenails?"

That drew a quick twitch of an almost smile from Chloe. "Sure, why not?"

Jools Sitiver was perusing the London Times in his favorite wingback overstuffed chair. The Themestocles Club was a rather exclusive gentlemen's club in downtown London catering to civil servants who's jobs required a certain degree of discreation. No signs outside advertised its presence. Nor was it listed in any telephone directory. If you didn't know where it was then you didn't belong there. In the 167 years it had existed no woman had ever entered beyond the Lady's Parlor in the front. No sneaker had ever trod on its expensive carpets. No member had ever entered its confines without a suit and tie. Even the workmen who came in for the occasional maintenance or repairs were required to wear ties with their overalls. For Jools it was a wonderful little slice of heaven. A place to relax and unwind after a hard day at MI-6.

The wine steward approached with a bottle. "The '82 as you requested. I would also like to inform you that Mr. Harold Pearce would like to meet with you."

"Thank you Marcus, I was expecting him. Show him in and then lock the door as you leave."

"Very well sir."

Harry was ushered in. Jools did not rise from his seat but gestured at another chair next to his. "Do come in Harry, it's been so long since we've had a chance to chat."

Harry looked over Jools. He hadn't changed a bit. The suit was expensive and excellently tailored. The highly polished shoes didn't have a speck of dust on them. Dust knew better than to settle on Jools Sitiver. Harry walked over and took the seat.

"So Harry, I heard you've got a pet colonial working for you now. A CTU agent of all things. How's that coming along?"

"Very well, she's proving to be quite useful."

"That's not what I heard." Jools chuckled, " I heard she wrecked your computer."

"She didn't wreck it. It was an accident. We entered a weaponised virus program she was working on into our system without her knowledge or permission."

"Ooooh, sounds nasty! Think she'll let us have it?"

"Not if she ever hears you call her a pet colonial."

Jools smiled. "I'll try to watch my tounge if I ever meet her. I also heard that she shot up an Italian restaurant like a drunken hillbilly."

"As you no doubt well know, she was escaping an assassination attempt and the restaurant was empty at the time."

Jools glanced up at the ceiling. "I'm sure it was. So why are you letting the Americans snoop around your computers?"

"Miss O'Brian has assured me that she will not snoop into classified areas without permission."

Jools looked amused. "And you believe her because she says so?"

"No, I believe her because she can't lie worth a damn. But enough about Agent O'Brian. I would like to borrow Colonel Garrett and I can't seem to locate him."

"Colonel Garrett? May I ask why?"

"You may ask."

Jools stroked his chin. "You might be planning a party but I imagine it has something to do with that nasty hole in the road up north of here." Harry remained silent so Jools continued. "Yes our ancient enemy is rearing it's head again. The trouble with the Irish is that for some strange reason they just don't want to be English. Then of course you have the dispersed Irish like Miss O'Brian who didn't really want to be Irish. They'd rather run off across the ocean to become cowboys or hillbillies or whatever they do over there." He made a rather dismissive gesture with his hand.

"Colonel Garrett is in Northern Scotland fishing. Since his retirement he spends a lot of time up there although I don't know why any sane man would holiday in Northern Scotland in November." Jools shivered. "The weather is up there is ghastly. I could have him flown down here in a couple of hours just for you Harry."

"Thank you Jools."

"It was very fortunate that the bomb went off when it did, on a relatively empty stretch of road. A few minutes earlier and it would have gone off in town, a few minutes later it would have gone off on the M1."

"Yes, fortunate indeed." Harry replied dryly.

Jools poured out two wineglasses. "I suppose this all ties in with the Mnemosyne business. Of course we've known about them for months before the Americans stumbled onto it. We just decided monitor them for a while. Sometimes it's good to know what is going where and to whom."

"And you didn't see fit to share it with your sister service?" Harry's voice had a tone of irritation.

"Why Harry old sport! You never asked! Of course once the Yanks found out they had to muck everything up. You know how the Americans are, never use tweezers when a sledgehammer will do."

"But you didn't know about the Birmingham container did you?" Harry saw Jools expression slip for an instant. "I thought so. Kevin Rourke has been playing you. He'd let you know about gun smuggling in Somolia or Lebannon but not what's happening right here! No doubt his partner found out and paid the price."

Jools face fell. "I happened to be rather fond of Michael Cartwright and what happened to him in Mexico was unforgivable. We'll drink a toast to him." They raised their glasses, gently clinked them together and sipped the wine. "What do you think of the wine Harry?"

"It's very good." Harry looked at the bottle "Negru Munte?"

"It's Romanian, It means Black Mountain. I developed a taste for it back in the good old days when our enemies were a little more civilized. Not even the communists were able to screw it up although God knows they tried. Of course the '85 is to die for. I was fortunate enough to pick up a case of it. This is the '82. An inferior vintage. It seems OK but there's something that's just not right. I sometimes drink it to remind myself just how imperfect the world is." Jools stared Harry in the eye. "I've got a feeling that there's more to this affair than just a few cranky Irishmen. Everything seems OK but there's something that's just not right."

Colonel Robert Garrett (Royal Army Field Artillery Retired) was somewhat annoyed when he entered Thames House. He had learned hypnosis as a young man simply as a hobby. However the fact that he was so very good at it coupled with the fact that he could not only keep a secret but wouldn't even hint at a secret brought him to the attention of the intelligence services. Naturally, most of the schemes they came up with were hair brained notions based on bad movies and literature. You cannot hypnotise someone into doing something they really don't want to do. People under hypnosis weren't less aware but more aware.

When the RAF major had interrupted his fishing trip and asked him to fly to London, Robert had no choice but to comply. Patriotism and a strong sense of duty had been drilled into him the whole 63 years of his life. He just hoped his holiday wasn't interrupted because some idiot came up with a crazy idea to hypnotise an Al Quada prisoner to become a robot assassin and take out Bin Laden. If he ever heard another one of those he's going to have to hurt someone.

Harry was there to greet the old man with the visitor's pass. Since his retirement the Colonel had lost some of the white hair on top of his head and started a short white beard. He's also put on a few pounds. In a few years he should be able to pass for Father Christmas. Harry put out his hand. "Welcome to Thames House Colonel Garrett." Robert shook Harry's hand. "Sorry for the inconveniance Colonel but I need you to help one of my agents recall the events of last night. What happened was. . ."

"Don't give me any details, one of the dangers of forensic hypnotism is when the hypnotist actually creates false memories in the subject. The less I know the better. I would like a comfortable dimly lit room with a couch and a computer terminal."

"You'll get our full cooperation."

Jo was a little apprehensive when Zaf brought her into the lounge where the hypnotist was waiting for her. He gave her a warm smile. "Come on in Jo and relax."

"Are you going to make her quack like a duck?" Zaf asked.

All the warmth left the old man. "Get out now!" The voice was cold and brooked no nonsense. After Zaf left the old man relaxed. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to embarrass you. I'm just going to help you remember. It would help if we had someone to operate the facial reconstruction program but it would have to be someone you trust completely."

Jo thought about it. Malcolm could do it, so could Colin. There was also Ruth. They were all her friends and she trusted them but then she thought of Chloe. She was still in a bad place and doing something useful would help her. She also regarded her as a friend and trusted her completely. "I would like Chloe O'Brian to operate it."


	19. Secrets

**Secrets**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 19**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Authors note: Again I would like to thank Rachael (Exotic Rooftile) for explaining the difference between barristers and solicitors. A wee bit of rewriting and everything's good again.

Robert Garrett greeted the small blond woman with a warm smile. She responded with a suspicious glare. "Hello, you must be Chloe O'Brian."

"Must be." She answered. "Look Colonel, let's get this straight, I not sure I believe in all this hypnosis crap but the Mythbusters say that it works so I'll go along with it."

Robert wondered who the Mythbusters were. "Very well, I appreciate your honesty but what I really need is your silence. Once I place Miss Portman under she may lose some of her inhibitions. It's possible that she may say or do things she normally wouldn't do. I respect her privacy and I hope you would too. I plan to record everything, have you edit out the parts pertaining to the case and destroy the rest of the recording. I also need you to operate that thing." He waved a hand at the computer work station. "I never have figured those things out and I'm too old to learn. But everything that happens in this room not directly related to the case is to be bound in absolute secrecy."

Chloe nodded, "OK, secrets I can do."

She started up the computer as Robert left to get Jo who was waiting in another room.

"Lie down on the couch and relax." He directed Jo. "Don't worry about anything."

"Are you going to swing a watch at me or spin a mirror?"

"We don't really do that much anymore. It's very theatrical but it doesn't work on everybody. First of all do you believe I can hypnotise you?"

"I guess so."

"It won't work unless you really believe in it. Now again, do you believe I can hypnotise you?"

"Yes."

His voice remained gentle. "Tell me."

"Yes, I believe you can hypnotise me."

"Very well, now let us begin concentrate only on my voice. . ."

Robert's soft droning voice was mesmerizing. In spite of herself Chloe herself felt somewhat lulled by it. Eventually he convinced Jo that her arms were immensely heavy. "Jo can you lift your arms?"

Jo tried. "I can't, they're too heavy."

"Very good now you are in a small grove of trees. It is dark. You are standing watch. What do you see?"

Jo spoke in a monotone "Adam and Chloe are entering the barn. It looks like there's a small hole in the wall. I have to keep watch. Its very chilly and dark but the moon is giving some light."

"Ok, what happens next?"

"There are people leaving the farmhouse. They're going to the barn! I have to warn Adam!"

"How many people?

Jo's lips moved as if counting to herself. "There are eleven of them. All male. Too far away to see any details. I'm taking out my phone. I hear a voice behind me. They found me!"

"How do you feel?"

"I'm terrified. They found me. They'll probably kill me. I can't tell them about Adam and Chloe no matter what they do."

Robert nodded, "Yes, you must protect the mission and your fellow agents."

"Yes but there's more to it than that. I love them."

"You love him, Adam Carter?"

"I love both of them. I'm in love with Adam Carter and I'm also in love with Chloe O'Brian."

Robert glanced over at Chloe. She seemed completely enthralled by the computer program but he noticed she wasn't breathing.

"Adam's hurting. His wife Fiona was killed right in front of him. I don't think he's ready for love again but when he is I'll be there. He's a good man and a good father. The kind of man I would love to spend the rest of my life with. And as for Chloe. . ." Jo smiled a little, "I wasn't sure I liked her at first. She's very crabby and awkward but inside she has a very good heart. She really cares about people. She doesn't talk about herself much but I know that some horrible things happened in Los Angeles. I think she lost someone. Someone she loves very much. She also has a lot of pain inside her. I believe she craves love but doesn't think she deserves it. I don't want to frighten her. I don't think she's into women. And if she's not that's OK, but I do love her."

In the dimly lit room Robert noticed Chloe was ignoring them. A little too much. "You are a civil servant of the Security Services, you are trained to observe details. What about the two men who are capturing you. What are they wearing?"

"Jeans, warm coats, sneakers. It's too dark to make out colours. It's all shades of grey."

"Any other details?"

"I'm standing now. One of them is about two inches taller than I am the other is about six inches taller. The tall one has a heart tattooed on the back of his wrist. I can see a name, Deborah, on a ribbon under the heart. He's bald on top with long hair in the back. Like Ben Franklin only skinnier."

"Jo you are going to walk over to Chloe at the computer. You're going to help her make pictures on the screen of the two men. Understand?

"Yes."

Jo began rattling off details to Chloe who was working on the facial reconstructions. She peered over Chloe's shoulder making corrections. "He has a crooked nose like Owen Wilson but isn't nearly as cute. His ears are longer than that and he has little earrings. . .".

It took over 90 minutes to get both of the men right. Nobody was really paying much attention to the time. Eventually Jo was completely satisfied with Chloe's work. Then Robert asked Jo, "Is there anything else?"

"They're dragging me to the car. They're going to drown me! They open the boot. I see the tool box in there. Please Jesus! Don't let them take the tool box out! No! They're killing me!"

"Jo! You are safe now. You are back at Thames House surrounded by friends. They can't hurt you anymore."

"I'm back at Thames House."

"I will clap my hands, when I do you will wake up. You won't remember anything you said here except for the descriptions of the two men who tried to kill you. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

Robert clapped his hands together and Jo blinked several times. "Is it over?" She saw the two pictures on the screen. "That's them! It worked!"

"Yes Jo, you did a very good job. Now why don't you get something to eat while Miss O'Brian and I work on the recordings a bit."

"Ok." Jo strode out of the room.

"Now Chloe, we'll go through the recordings and erase the. . ."

"I know what to take out!" Chloe snapped. "I'm not stupid! Jeez!"

"I'm sorry Chloe. Now you know why I'm so keen on secrecy. Jo could become very embarrassed if any of this came out. You don't have a problem with it do you?"

Chloe stared intensely at the screen. She didn't even look at Richard. "No, I mean I never did it, not with a girl. I guess she didn't know I was in the room."

"On the contrary, she was completely aware of her surroundings. This may be something her subconscious wanted you to hear. On the conscious level however, it might cause problems."

"I already told you, secrecy I can do!"

The computer facial matching programming quickly matched the descriptions with a pair of suspects. Merlin "The Wizard" Mason and Harry MacGuire. They both had extensive rap sheets along with habitual hangouts and addresses. Ruth brought their sheets in to Harry she handed them over with a warm smile.

Harry scanned through the paperwork. "Is Mason still living at this address?"

"He's still paying the rent and utility bills. And according to this Mr. MacGuire makes an appearance at a pub called The Flying Monkey nearly every night. Should we bug them? Perhaps put a tail on them?"

Harry pondered it for a while. "No, let's bring them in separately. We'll divide and conquer.

Harry MacGuire was sauntering down the sidewalk to his favorite pub. The rendezvous wasn't until tomorrow morning, plenty of time for a few beers. It was a shame the bomb went off early. All that work and expense with such little result. They must have hit a pot hole in the road. Serves that damned fool Sean right. He insisted on wiring the bomb himself when if you need an expert on wiring you call Harry MacGuire! Instead he spent most of his time wandering around in the dark on guard duty. A total waste of his talents. Still it had its moments. He grinned at the thought of the blond policewoman. Now she was a looker! It's a shame he and Merlin couldn't have had a bit of sport with her before they drowned her but it wasn't worth the risk if the boss found them. Harry shuddered a bit. He's a bit strange that way.

Up ahead he could see the signboard for The Flying Monkey. Harry's step quickened a bit at the thought of the warmth, the companionship, and the cold beer that waited for him inside. He leered at the lady plumber opening the side door of her van as he walked by. She's a cutie pie! Just then two men rushed out of an alleyway grabbing Harry and shoving him into the plumber's van. The lady plumber shut the door and casually but swiftly got into the driver's seat and drove away.

Inside the van Zaf watched the man they snatched. He matched the description Jo gave to a tee. He still had the small gold earrings she described although she wasn't able to tell the colour in the moonlight. The crooked, broken nose like Owen Wilson's. Zaf agreed with Jo. He wasn't nearly as cute. Zaf hoped Adam didn't have any problems snatching Merlin Mason.

Harry MacGuire was terrified. Who are these guys? He hoped they were police. His barrister would get him out in a couple of hours. They had nothing on him. "Where're you taking me!" He demanded. Neither one of them spoke a word. That rattled Harry a bit. One of them looked sort of middle eastern. He hoped they weren't Islamic radicals. Those guys would saw your head off as soon as look at you.

They parked the van and hustled Harry into a building. Once past the security it looked like any other office building. It must be the government. Just keep your mouth shut. They can't make you talk. Across the room he saw a tall bald man with long brown hair in the back. So they got Merlin too. They want to see if we recognise each other. The two men ignored each other. Harry was taken into a small interrogation room, shackled to a table, informed of his rights and left there alone.

An hour later Harry Pearce was looking at the two men sitting alone in the two different rooms on a screen when Ruth approached and stood next to him. He was sorely tempted to put his arm around her but resisted. "How much longer are you going to make them wait?" She asked.

Harry glanced at his watch, "I'll let them stew for another forty minutes or so."

Harry MacGuire sat there for what seemed like hours. What were they waiting for? What were they up to? Then the door opened. The man who came in wasn't very tall, he was a middle aged man with thinning blond hair and looked a little plump. Soft and weak. This shouldn't be too bad.

Harry Pearce wanted to knock the cocky smirk right off MacGuire's face. He refused to think of him as Harry. He didn't want to share anything with this piece of filth. Not even a name. The thought of what this slime did to Jo filled him with fury. "Mr. MacGuire, I assume you've been read your rights?" He asked in a clipped tone.

"Yeah, and I'm not saying a word until my barrister gets here!"

"I don't need you to talk, I need you to listen. We already know everything. There's nothing you can say that I want to hear. Your buddy Merlin Mason told us everything. All about how you murdered a policewoman." He placed a photo in front of MacGuire. Jo looked very nice in her police uniform. She had it taken only an hour before. "How you threatened to shoot him with a shotgun if he didn't help you. . ."

"THAT'S A DAMNED LIE!"

Harry leaned across the table. "Her name was Officer Penelope MacDonald. We pulled her body out of the lake this morning. Care to explain how your thumbprint got on her shoe? Or perhaps what your handprint is doing on the boot?" Harry lied shamelessly, the prints were hopelessly smudged. But Jo had remembered who lifted her feet and whose hand pulled the boot shut. "Mason told us all about how the two of you were patrolling near the barn. The two of you spotted Officer MacDonald. He called out 'Well looky here!' and then you said, 'Looks like we got us a spy!'

MacGuire got more and more nervous as the strange policeman described in great detail everything that went on that night. They must have broken Merlin. No one else could possibly know. As he concluded the story he added. "He also told us about the rendezvous you guys have planned. We know everything."

"I want my barrister." MacGuire's voice wasn't so cocky anymore. It was the voice of a frightened little man.

Harry gave him a wicked smile, "Sure, we'll get your barrister but you won't be needing him. We're not going to prosecute you. We're going to let you go."

Harry MacGuire was startled. "What?"

"Yes, Mr. Mason is cooperating fully with us. We are going to scoop up your whole cell at the rendezvous. Mr. Mason will be rewarded and given a new name and a new home. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The United States, maybe South America. it's a very big planet. But I have something special planned for you. After we arrest your whole gang we're going to release you and deposit 10,000 pounds sterling into your bank account easily traced back to us. I know that sounds generous but I doubt you'll have time to spend it. We seldom get everybody and how are you're buddies going to feel about that? What they do you will be far worse than anything we can do."

"You can't." MacGuire whimpered.

Harry leaned over so his face was inches from MacGuire's ugly crooked nose. "Penny MacDonald was like a daughter to me! Mason told me all about how it was your idea to drown her! About how he argued against it but you forced him at gunpoint to go along with it!"

"HE'S LYING! IT WAS HIS IDEA TO PUT HER IN THE BOOT!"

Harry staightened up. "Well, one of you is lying. How about if you fill out a statement giving us your version of events including the rendezvous. We'll compare it to the facts we already know and then we'll know which one of you to believe."

Harry MacGuire looked totally defeated. "Yeah, I'll tell you all about that son of a bitch. You can trust me."

"You are aware that any statement could be held against you in court."

"Yeah."

Later Harry encountered Adam holding his own handful of papers. "How did you do with Mason?"

Adam grinned, "It worked like a charm. After I told him that MacGuire had spilled the beans and gave all the details of Jo's 'murder' he couldn't wait to give me his version of events. Now let's compare."

Harry and Adam read the statements. Aside from each man portraying himself as a helpless victim of circumstance and blaming the other for the murder the stories matched pretty well. Best of all they both had the same place for the secret rendezvous. A private home in Oxford tomorrow morning at 9:00.

Chloe was in the Tech Room working on the computer when Jo came in smiling. "Hey Chloe, we got the guys who tried to kill me! Ruth told me they gave up everything!"

Chloe seemed uncomfortable. "Umm, yeah, that's great Jo." She wrung her hands a bit and couldn't seem to look Jo in the face. "Uh look, I'm kinda busy here. Maybe later."

"Yes, sure Chloe, I guess we all have a lot of work to do." As Jo left her brow furrowed. Chloe seemed a little nervous. She hoped nothing was wrong.

Kevin Rourke hung up the phone. He was still furious over the lorry bomb's premature detonation. His cousin Sean was closer to him than any brother and now Scott Jensen had finally got around to telling him about a fatal weakness Chloe O'Brian had. All Kevin's plans were falling apart but he might just be able to salvage something by exploiting this weakness. Apparently O'Brian was obsessed with rescuing an American agent named Bauer from the Chinese. Love was a weakness that Kevin never permitted himself but it could be a weapon when used against others. He would use it to get what he wanted and if he destroyed O'Brian in the process then that was just too bad.


	20. It's What You Give

**It's What You Give**

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 20**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"It is imperative that we have no leaks." Harry announced to the small group in the conference room. "Nothing is to leave this room. I have most of the our people working on other things but we are going to take Rourke's cell out once and for all."

"What do we have in the way of muscle?" Adam asked.

"Colonel Donnally will be there with his SAS unit. He's the only member of the unit who knows where the target is and I trust him to keep his mouth shut. Malcolm have you got the floor plans?"

"Sort of, the floor plan was a standardised design when the house was built in 1895. It doesn't take into account any renovations since then." Malcolm seemed almost embarrassed.

"It'll have to do. Ruth, you will go to Oxford tonight with Adam, Jo, and Zaf to scout the area and set up surveillance posts. Malcolm, Colin, and Chloe will cover things from here. We will have access to a Phoenix reconnaissance drone which we will have orbiting the target tomorrow morning. There should be nine surviving members at the rendezvous. Let's get them all!"

Later Chloe sat at her work station and watched the field agents leave. She was going over the specifications of the Phoenix. It was the British equivalent of the Predator. Not quite as good or expensive but perfectly adequate. With any luck they'll scoop up the whole rotten bunch of them tomorrow and then we'll all live happily ever after for the next ten minutes until the next crisis hits. The phone on her desk chirped and she picked it up. "O'Brian."

"You have a scrambled call from Vauxhall Cross." The operator told her. "Please punch in your recognition code."

'_Vauxhall Cross?' _Chloe thought as she punched in the code. _'What does MI-6 want with me?' _She heard a series of clicks then the line connected. "This is O'Brian."

"Chloe O'Brian? This is Sir Jeremy France. Head of MI-6 Eastern Asia Operations. I need your help." The voice was somewhat distorted by the scramble program but clear enough.

Chloe felt a thrill go through her. _'This is the one guy who can help me rescue Jack!' _However things that are too good to be true usually are. She began tracing the call. "Uhh, Sir France? What can I do for you?"

"I understand you have a virus program called 'Fencepost' I am sending an agent to Beijing tonight and I would like to send a copy of Fencepost with him. The Chinese are holding two of our agents and I understand that they have one of yours as well. I believe they are in the same facility and with Fencepost we could locate the facility and mount a rescue mission."

At the next station Malcolm could see Chloe smiling. He was curious, he'd never seen her smile before. He craned to listen in on her half of the conversation. "Sir Jeremy, yes I have a copy. I just need to check with headquarters to get permission to share it with you." The call was coming from Vauxhall Cross, she couldn't tell what part of the building it came from. Cracking MI-6 wasn't something she could do. Not in a few minutes.

"That's where we have a problem Agent O'Brian. We already tried. President Gardner has refused to release that technology to us pending further review. If you agree to do this and I will understand if you don't it will have to be done on the sly."

'_Shit!' _Chloe's smile faded. This had just turned into a felony. Giving classified information to an ally without authorization was a 2 to 4 year sentence if they caught her. And they would catch her. She couldn't lie worth a damn. Tacked onto the other charges they could press on her she would be spending a lot of time in prison. But she didn't really have a choice. She could remember what it was like, alone, terrified, tortured. She had to save Jack. He had people who loved him. Jack will be happy, Audrey will be happy, Kim will be happy. Everybody will be happy. That's worth disgrace and prison. "OK, I'll do it. Want me to go over there?"

"No, people are constantly watching this place. I'll give you a location in Tilbury. Meet me there in ninety minutes. Don't tell anybody and come alone."

"The program's kind of complex. I'm not sure your agent will able to use it."

"Once we send him with it I'm sure you can give us detailed instructions. We can send them later."

"OK, Sir France. I'll meet you there." After getting the location Chloe hung up. She had a bad feeling about this. She wondered if she should tell Harry but decided not to. He can't forbid her from doing something he doesn't know about. She got up and walked into Colin's workroom where he greeted her with a smile.

"Hello Chloe, you look worried about something."

"It's nothing, what are you working on?"

"It's a tracking device. I'm trying to increase it's range but I'm doing a pretty piss poor job of it. You got any ideas?"

"No, I'm more into computers than gadgets. You're much better with this kind of thing. What's this?"

"Radiation tag. It injects I-40 a radioactive form of iodine into the body. It gets into the bone and has a half life of 12 hours. It's empty now. We have to make the I-40 just before we use it."

Chloe winced. "We've got that. I'm not too crazy about radiation though. You've got quite a collection here." She picked up a sub dermal injector.

"Here's something I'm pretty proud of." He held up a jacket. "It's got built in trackers. If you wear this I could find you anywhere!"

Chloe tried it on. "It's comfy, a bit too large for me. What's this?" She picked up a small plastic rectangular box about ¾ of an inch thick and four inches long with a sliding top. She slid the top off to look at the tangled mess inside.

Colin looked rather embarrassed. "That's supposed to be a stealth tracker. Purely experimental. I'm trying to use no metal. Plastic batteries, plastic magnet to attach it to vehicles, carbon and silicone filaments to replace copper wires. Even a timer to delay any transmissions for up to twelve hours. Unfortunately Plastic and carbon aren't nearly as efficient as metal and I'm having a devil of a time trying to miniaturise it. Half the time it doesn't even work. It's pretty much a failure."

"I've got a buddy over at Cal Tech who's working on plastics. I'll give you his number. Maybe he can help. I've got to go now. Take care Colin, you're a geek but you're a good guy." She kissed his forehead and walked out.

Colin smiled as she left then he got puzzled. _'Got to go? Where the devil is she going?'_ He noticed the jacket was missing. She must still be wearing it. He activated the screen. She was back at her station but only stayed there for a few minutes before she started heading out. He left the screen on. He'll keep an eye on her while he worked.

Chloe checked out a vehicle and drove out. _'Where the hell is Tilbury?' _Fortunately the car had an automatic map system. Tilbury was a port town where they handled most of the cargo container ships. The meeting place was at the container yard near the docks. It wasn't too far. She drove in silence until she saw the container yard then pulled over.

Chloe sat there in the dark. She still had a bad feeling about this in the pit of her stomach. _'This could be a trap. No, who are you kidding girl? Of course it's a trap! When was the last time anything nice ever happened to you? _She sat in the car staring at the container yard. _'Come on Chloe! You're supposed to be a genius. This is really stupid. What are you doing here? You should just turn this car around and go back. Karen's right, Jack doesn't love you. Why do you keep risking your life and freedom for him?'_ Chloe squeezed the steering wheel hard between her fingers. She welcomed the pain from her cut palm. Pain is a part of life. _'Because love isn't what you take, it's what you give. This might be a trap but it might be legit. If it is it could be the only chance Jack has.'_

Chloe pulled the sub dermal injector she stole from Colin's workshop out of her purse. It doesn't hurt to have a backup. She rolled her sleeve up and pressed it against her forearm. With a loud pop it injected a transmitter under the skin. "Ow! That's going to leave a welt." She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She hoped this was all legit and that Sir Jeremy French will help rescue Jack. That it wasn't all a just a trap. In either case this next part is going to really suck.

A few minutes later Chloe was walking through the container yard. She had a pained expression on her face but tried to calm down before the meeting. She wished she wasn't so cowardly. Then she wouldn't feel so terrified. The containers were stacked high around her giving the impression of a canyon. She went around a corner and spotted a man standing alone. She didn't see anyone else around. It looks OK. She walked towards him.

Harry left his office and walked through The Grid. He was in a pretty good mood. It seemed that everything was going smoothly. He noticed that Chloe's station was empty. It was empty the last time he walked through and his brow furrowed. "Where the devil is that woman!?"

"I thought you knew." Malcolm answered. "She left a while ago. She has a private meeting with Sir Jeremy France over something."

A chill went through Harry. "Sir Jemy's a friend of mine. He's attending a conference in Seoul. He won't be back until a week from Wednesday."

Chloe approached the man. He was a Sir. That means a knight. He might of inherited the title or performed some great service to the country. You could also be knighted for being an elderly rock star. She wondered how you address a knight. She didn't want to piss him off. "Umm, Sir French? Your majesty?"

The man turned around he seemed pretty young. Not much more than thirty. He smiled at her, then she heard a voice behind her. "Chloe my love! So nice to see you again! Heh! Heh!"

Chloe thrust her hand under her jacket drawing her Berretta and spinning around. A round house kick smashed into her hand. One shot fired into the darkness as the pistol flew out of her hand. Terrified she turned to run only to be caught by the first man. He grunted in pain as she kicked his shin but he didn't let go. The two men wrestled her face down into the concrete.

"Chloe, sweetheart! Let me give you some friendly advice." Rourke said as she squirmed beneath him. "You're not a field agent and you should quit pretending you are. You'll only embarrass yourself." She felt some flex cuffs go on her wrists as he leaned into her ear. "I'm so sorry for this inconvenience but you happen to have something we need very badly."

"Breath mints? Sure, they're in my purse. Help yourself." Chloe felt some more flex cuffs going around her ankles.

"Scan her!" The other man ran a scanner over Chloe.

"There seems to be something in her jacket. Hold her." He produced a folding knife and cut through her flex cuffs. The two men held her face down as they removed her jacket and replaced the cuffs. Then he scanned her again. "Something in her arm. I'll short it out." He pushed a small device against the welt and triggered it. Chloe gave out a grunt of pain as the electricity shot into her arm. She could taste metal in her mouth. The man scanned her again and gave her a detailed search violating every square inch of her body. He removed her watch and tossed it away. "She's clean."

Rourke smiled at her. "Two tracking devices? It really shows just how rotten the world is these days when people just can't trust each other anymore." He opened her purse and pulled out the blue rosary Father Mike had given her. "A Catholic girl!" He then pulled out her birth control pills. "Not a very good Catholic girl! For shame!" He grinned and tossed them both aside. "I stopped believing in all that crap when I was 10!" He then unzipped a side pocket and pulled out a computer disk. "Ah! Here we go!" He waved it front of her face. "Do you know what I can do with this?"

"Use it for a coaster? Without the access codes it's useless."

The two men picked her up and carried her out of the container yard to a nearby van. They bundled her inside. Rourke got into the back with her while the other man drove. "If you give me the access codes I can turn you loose. No harm, no foul. I have no real argument with the Americans." He gave her a smile. "But Chloe my love, since you probably consider yourself to be the brave heroic martyr type you'll probably force me to put you through a lot of unnecessary pain and agony before you give them to me anyway." She glared at him. Some people begged at this point but this one won't beg. At least not at first. He saw fear in her eyes but also defiance. It was a shame really. He kind of liked her.

"Remember when your cousin Shawn blew up?" She smiled at him. "That was me. Boom!"

Kevin's fist smashed into her face. Her head snapped back and she could taste blood. She felt a trickle coming out of her nose. "I'm sorry darling, I seem to have lost my temper. You seem such a nice girl. No great beauty but with a certain prettiness none the less." He traced his finger down her jawbone. "Such a delicate bone structure. And so many of them."


	21. Do It

**Do It**

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 21**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Chloe's in Tilbury," Colin reported. "She's wearing the jacket and it shows that she's near the dock area."

"I'm getting something too." Malcolm said. "She left a message on her computer with a timer. It just now came up. She says she has to go to a private meeting but being the nasty suspicious type she took Colin's jacket and some tracking devices. She's leaving us the frequencies so we can monitor her."

"She should at least tell somebody before running off like that!" Harry growled. "People running around carrying out their own wild schemes without permission! Is this standard operating procedure at CTU!?"

"From some of the reports I've read, it is." Malcolm replied glumly.

Adam was driving to the M 40 and Oxford when his cell phone chirped. He flipped it open. "Yeah."

"It's Harry. I need you to turn around and go to Tilbury."

"What's happening in Tilbury?"

"It's O'Brian, she's run off and I think she's walking into a trap."

"Oh Hell!" Adam pulled over into the meridian for an illegal U-Turn and began speeding back the way he came. Harry gave him the details. Apparently Chloe took some tracking devices with her. Of course Fiona had a tracker and it didn't help her. Adam drove faster.

Chloe's right hand hurt like hell where Rourke had kicked it. She flexed her fingers. Nothing broken. She looked up at Rourke. He was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. They were cold and dead. Chloe shuddered. Nothing broken yet anyway.

"Chloe, I told you once that you don't have the stomach for this kind of work. You get too emotionally caught up in it. That's why you're in this mess in the first place. Now I happen to like you Chloe, I also hate your guts. I know, it sounds contradictory but it's true. But I won't let either one of those emotions affect what I'm going to have to do to you."

"I'm here," Adam whispered. "You say she hasn't moved in 36 minutes?"

"That's right." Malcolm replied. "You're about thirty meters from the tracker now."

That sounded bad. She could be unconscious or dead. Adam approached the area cautiously with his pistol drawn. He peeked around a corner. No one was there. Still looking around he walked up to a small collection of items scattered on the concrete. The yard was pretty well lit. He found Chloe's jacket then looked around for clues. One shell casing, Chloe's leather handbag, her Berretta, a small packet of pills, a blue rosary and a cut flex cuff. He picked up the Berretta and dropped it into his pocket. "She's gone."

The timer on the stealth tracker she stole from Colin should kick in about now. Chloe hoped it would work. It better work. With those damned sharp corners it felt like cramming a brick into her body. _'Please God, make it work!'_

"According to Chloe's message the stealth tracker should have started about five minutes ago." Malcolm said. "So far we have nothing on that frequency."

"Stealth tracker? What's that?" Harry asked.

"Something Colin made. It's an undetectable tracker made completely out of non metallic substances."

"Why is this the first time I've heard of this?"

"BECAUSE THE DAMNED THING DOESN'T WORK!" Colin shouted. "IF YOU WANT A LIST OF ALL THE BLOODY CRAP IN MY WORKSHOP THAT DOESN'T WORK ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK!" He shut his eyes tightly, his breath was ragged. "I'm sorry sir, its just that Chloe. . . I'm sorry."

"Never mind, I understand Colin." Harry wondered how he'd feel if Rourke had Ruth, snapping her bones one at a time.

"I understand you've nicked one of my people. A Mr. Merlin Mason." Rourke grinned at Chloe. "I suppose you've gotten him to talk." Chloe remained silent. "I'll just pretend you did. I suppose you're setting up a surprise for me tomorrow morning. Well I'm setting up a surprise of my own. I've already called two of my best men and told them not to come. The rest are just dumb muscle. They're easy to replace. I've set a bomb in the house to detonate after the raid when the place will be just full of agents and SAS troopers. I'm sure you'll lose several of your friends but so will I. It's a sacrifice that just has to be made."

Chloe began to strain at the flex cuff. Somehow she had to warn them. Zaf, Adam, Ruth, and Jo. They were all in danger as well as the troopers. Everybody goes home. It was a mantra that she followed ever since joining CTU. Protect the public, then protect the agents. Everybody goes home. It wasn't just a slogan it was an obsession. Everybody goes home. All too often she failed but never from lack of effort on her part. Everybody goes home. Rourked noticed her agitation and chuckled. "See, you're too emotionaly attached to your fellows. You need to be completely disconnected with humanity in order to succeed at this. You have to understand sacrifice."

Rage boiled in Chloe. This scum ball wasn't sacrificing anything. Sacrifice is giving up something you value and he didn't put any value on human life. Not even the lives of his fellow terrorists. The people she killed with the bomb was a sacrifice. Each one had infinite value. Little Annie Carlson was a sacrifice. The horror hit her again. _'God forgive me, I killed a baby! This evil son of a bitch made me kill a baby.' _"The last thing I need is a philosophy lesson from a homicidal maniac." She said curtly.

The van slowed down and Rourke looked out the window. "Looks like we're here. Shall we get this party started?"

"I'm getting something. " Malcolm was hunched over the screen. "I'm picking up a signal from the stealth tracker. A very faint signal is hitting the cell tower in Southend on Sea."

"Can you triangulate?" Colin felt a faint trace of hope.

"It's very weak, not much more than a whisper. It's not hitting any other towers and it's fading in and out."

"You can count on me to build a tracker so stealthy not even I can find it." Colin's voice had a bitter tone.

Malcolm's brow furrowed. "What about the NASA algorithm?"

Colin raised his head. "We can use the spare satellite dish on the roof! I'll unbolt it and point it toward Southend!"

As Colin rushed to the elevator with the tool box Harry stepped over to Malcolm. "What will the NASA thing do?"

"It was designed by NASA to amplify very weak signals from deep space probes. They shared it with ESA and I happen to have friends in both agencies. If we can pick up the signal from Chloe we might be able triangulate it with the cell tower and get a location."

On the roof Colin used a spanner to unbolt the backup satellite dish. It was cold up on the roof with a light drizzle but he hardly noticed. He remembered putting the dish up years ago. How much trouble it was lining it up precisely with the communications satellite over the equator. Now he would have to do it all over again but he didn't care about that either. Getting Chloe back alive was the only thing he cared about.

Adam had violated nearly every traffic law known to mankind but at last he was in the general area of Southend. If they didn't tighten up the search radius somehow he didn't know what else to do.

Chloe was in a warehouse sitting in a wooden chair with a strap around her waist. She still had the flex cuffs on and Rourke knelt down to take off her shoes. "You know there are twenty six bones in each foot so this might take a while." His buddy from the container yard walked up with a hammer and a rather dull chisel. Rourke grinned and held them up before her face. "You can stop this at any time. As soon as my friend is able to enter Fencepost into that PC I will stop. If you cooperate right now no harm will come to you I promise."

"GO TO HELL!"

"Very well if you want to be that way." He placed the dull chisel on the last bone of her small toe brought the hammer up and smashed it. Air exploded from Chloe's lungs. She didn't want to scream. Didn't want him to get the satisfaction. He moved to the next toe and did it again. Chloe whimpered. Tears were running down her cheeks. Two more toes and she was sobbing. When he smashed the big toe she screamed.

Rourke got up and looked her straight in the eye. "That's only five bones. You have two hundred and six and that's not even counting your teeth. Don't make me do this. Just tell us how to. . ."

Chloe jerked forward. All those years of sit ups at the CTU gym paid off as she smashed the top of her forehead into the bridge of his nose with a vicious head butt. Rourke howled and fell backwards on his ass, blood streaming from his nose. "You broke my nothe you bitch!" Through her tears and ragged breathing Chloe grinned. She wasn't just a victim. She could still hurt him. She was still a CTU agent.

"Colin move the dish to your left, No! that's too far! Back just a hair. A little more. There!" Colin took the spanner and began tightening the bolts. Down inside the building Malcolm was using the faint whispers of the signal to get a position. "Adam, it seems to be about .8 kilometers from your present position bearing 146."

Malcolm had the warehouse on satellite by the time a wet and shivering Colin left the elevator. "Adam, There is one guard on the front gate and four people in the building. The sky is too overcast to get any more details but I think there's a helicopter around back."

The guard outside was pacing back and forth. Adam waited until he turned around then slowly crept up behind him. The guard stopped and shook a fag out of a pack then flicked on a lighter. The flare from the cigarette lighter temporarily blinded him. Adam tossed a small piece of broken glass over the man's shoulder and he peered into the darkness to see where the sound came from. He didn't notice the man looming behind him until it was too late.

Adam caught the unconscious guard before he hit the ground. He trussed him up with flex cuffs and dragged him behind some trash bins. He then pressed his headset. "Can you give me a location on the others?"

"No, too much cloud cover. And the stealth tracker has apparently given up the ghost."

Adam approached a metal door. It was locked of course. Then he heard a woman scream inside. He inserted the electronic lock pick into the door and opened it.

A small red light started blinking next to the computer. "Boss, it looks like we got visitors."

"Hell, OK, take Fenthepotht and thtart up the chopper. I'll take Mith O'Brian."

"What about Gary?"

"Gary will jutht have to take care of himthelf."

Adam stalked through the warehouse. It was dimly lit with crates on pallets stacked three high. He found himself wishing Chloe would scream again so he could get her location. He had failed Fiona, he would be damned if he failed Chloe too. It wasn't exactly the same. He had loved Fiona. He didn't love Chloe but as irritating as she could be sometimes he did like her. And he couldn't let her die. He couldn't let that happen again. Suddenly a man with a piece of pipe lunged out from behind a corner and slammed it into Adam's wrist. Adam's pistol flew away and he jumped back trying to muffle the scream. The pain seemed to go all the way up to his shoulder and as he backed away he tried flexing the fingers of his right hand. They didn't seem to want to work.

The terrorist grinned at him as he hefted the pipe and approached him. Adam didn't have time to mess around. He feinted a retreat and when the terrorist pursued spun around and dived inside the arc of the pipe tackling the man. As they rolled on the floor Adam had the disavantage. The bad guy had two working hands and Adam only had one. They rolled over and the terrorist had Adam on his back. He pressed his forearm against Adam's throat and leaned into him. Adam couldn't breath. It felt like his throat was being crushed. He also felt Chloe's Berretta pressed against his side. He had forgotten all about it. Adam pushed his left hand into his jacket pocket and grasped the weapon. He couldn't get it out in the position he was in so he twisted it around in the pocket and pressed it against the man on top of him. Adam could feel himself start to black out as he squeezed the trigger. The terrorist's body acted as a big silencer as the gun gave a muffled bang. He suddenly went limp, made a few gasps and lay still. Gasping for air Adam heaved the heavy body off himself and sat up. Chloe was still in trouble. He couldn't find his own pistol and didn't have time to look for it. Chloe's pistol felt ligher than usual. She must not have reloaded it. He hoped there were enough bullets left to do the job

Malcolm had mentioned a helicopter in the back so the back of the building seemed a good place to start. As he approached the rear he heard noises and sped up. He rounded a corner and saw Rourke holding Chloe against his chest. Rourke noticed Adam and grinned. Adam then noticed Rourke's nose was bleeding and he had a sawn off doubled barreled shotgun pressed under Chloe's chin tilting her head back.

Adam approached him. "Let her go and put the weapon down! We have the place surrounded!"

"Afraid not! Don't even think about shooting me! I've filed the firing mechanithim on thith gun. Now it hath a hair trigger. The thlightetht twitch of my finger will blow poor Chloe'th head apart. Tho jutht behave yourthelf and I'll be on my way."

Adam knew if they got away he would never see Chloe alive again. The Berretta felt clumsy in his left hand. He could do a head shot but the reflex action would kill Chloe. It may be good enough but as Chloe pointed out to him once sometimes good enough just isn't good enough. Chloe's eyes looked terrified but she silently mouthed the words "Do it." Adam's mind went back to his weeks training with the Royal Marine Snipers. One of the things he learned was about the anatomy of the human brain. There was a small area at the base of the brain called the hindbrain. He forgot the medical term for it but it controlled the body's involuntary muscles and reflexes. The fabled no reflex zone. He concentrated on Rourke's head until it seemed transparent. He could see the hindbrain but it was behind Rourke's cheekbone. Chloe's gun was loaded with hollow points and the bullet would break up hitting his cheekbone. Rourke kept backing to the open doorway and Adam kept holding the pistol at him. He would have to shoot him before he reached the door no matter what. Then Rourke's head tilted down slightly. The hindbrain was now behind his left eye. Without even thinking about it the pistol went off in Adam's hand.

Chloe felt the wind as the bullet whipped by only an inch from her ear. Rourke collapsed like a rag doll as every muscle in his body went limp at the same instant. They fell on the floor together and the shotgun went off firing harmlessly into the ceiling. Adam rushed up and cut off Chloe's restraints. "Thanks," She muttered rubbing her wrists. "The Oxford house is a trap! There's a bomb in there!"

Adam heard the helicopter outside. He rushed out the door. "Turn off the engine and get out with your hands up!" He shouted. The pilot flipped him the bird and took off. Adam fired three shots and the gun was empty. The helicopter skidded and flipped over on it's side. Adam ducked back into the door as the blades shattered on the concrete sending shrapnel flying around. The helicopter's engine raced uselessly and a small fire burst out of the engine compartment. Adam was looking around for additional terrorists when suddenly Chloe burst out the open door limping frantically toward the downed helicopter with a small CO2 fire extinguisher. "Get back Chloe! It might explode!"

Chloe sprayed CO2 into the engine compartment until the fire went out. Adam reached her just as she was checking the pilot for a pulse. "He's still alive! Get an ambulance!"


	22. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

**No Good Deed Goes Unpunished**

**Chloe and The Mice**

**Chapter 22**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anybody. The 24 portion is set between seasons 5 and 6. The MI 5/Spooks portion is set during season 4.**

Chloe hated hospitals. She contemplated the cast on her left foot. She then looked at the bandage on her right arm. Running on a broken foot wasn't considered a good idea and the blasting pain she got from it left her unaware of the blisters forming on her right forearm when she put out the engine fire on the helicopter. She did however save the life of a worthless piece of garbage. No good deed goes unpunished. Ever since she sent the SEALS into Mexico it's been as if she was nothing but a punching bag. Screw the high adventure. She's much too cowardly and pain phobic for all this field agent crap. Leave that for the heroes. She couldn't wait to get back to her dull job as a screen monkey.

There was a knock at her door and Adam came in with a sling on his right arm. "Hi Chloe, how are you doing?"

"Like some guy bashed my toes in and set my arm on fire. Been better."

"Can I sign your cast?"

"No. How's the arm?"

"Very nasty wrist sprain. I should be good as new in no time."

Just then a young and smiling nurse entered. "Good morning Chloe, you'll be happy to hear that Joseph Higgins is out of surgery!"

Chloe's brow wrinkled "Why would I be happy to hear that? Who the hell is Joseph Higgins?"

"The man you saved from the helicopter crash. I thought you might like to see him."

"Why the f--- would I want to see HIM?!"

The nurse looked confused. "Because you risked your life to save him. He would have died if you didn't put out the fire and give him first aid. He's still in a lot of pain and I thought seeing you might cheer him up."

"Saving his life doesn't make us bosom buddies. No I don't want to see him. I certainly don't want to cheer him up. The fact that he's in a lot of pain is the best news I've heard all day. Just lock him up for a few decades and leave me alone!"

After the nurse left Adam who had been eyeing the girl turned back to Chloe. "Why did you do it? Why risk your life for him?"

Chloe shut her eyes. "I couldn't just let him die. Not like that. He's a human being. Sort of. Too many people have died already. Besides aren't we supposed to be the good guys?"

"Yes, but sometimes I have to remind myself of that. What do you say we get the hell out of here and go back to Thames House?" Chloe nodded. "I'll get a wheelchair somewhere."

"I don't need a damned wheelchair! This is a walking cast. I'll walk out."

"Hospital regulations. You need a wheelchair to the door. Then you can walk."

"That's stupid."

"It's the rules. We all have to follow the rules. Even the stupid ones. Well, most us do."

By the time they returned to the grid the other agents had returned from Oxford. The television screens were still showing BBC coverage of the burning pile of debris that was once a house.

"We warned them about the bomb." Ruth reported to Harry. We had the whole building surrounded and evacuated the neighborhood. We begged them to get out and turn themselves in before it detonated. They refused. They didn't believe their leader would betray them like that. They were too smart to fall for our stupid tricks. They just wanted to stay put and play Alamo."

"Well, I'm not going to shed any tears for them." Harry said. Then he shook his head. "Shame about the house though. Late Victorian, two story red brick. Lovely porch. What a crying shame."

"Some members of Parliament are already accusing us of planting the bomb."

"Putting up with idiots in Parliament is part of the price we pay for democracy." He then spotted Chloe limping by. "O'Brian, I'd like a word with you."

Chloe rolled her eyes, gave out an exasperated sigh then turned and stumped over to Harry's office.

Before Harry could even speak Chloe stared him in the eye and started. "I suppose you're going to give me an ass chewing for running off like that on my own. Let me begin. 'We don't do that kind of thing over here no matter what kind of crazy things they do in America. It was very stupid to walk into a trap like that and you're very disappointed in me. You thought I was smarter than that.' Did I leave anything out?"

"Yes, first of all I don't need some smart aleck putting words in my mouth! If I want to chew you out I prefer to do it myself! I'm aware that you've always been a disciplinary problem in LA and that your skills and competence are the only reason you still have a job but over here we work as a team. I am disappointed in you. Not for walking into a trap but for not trusting us. Why didn't you come to us for help?"

Chloe crossed her arms defensively. "Because I was committing a felony! The less people who knew about it the better! Hell! I knew it was a trap when I went in! I'm not stupid, My brain was telling me not to do it but my heart wanted to go in. My brain's a genius but my heart is really stupid. It's always getting me into trouble." She lowered her eyes. " I really should stop paying attention to it."

Harry felt a little sympathy for her. "What did he say to lure you out?"

"A friend of mine is being held by the Chinese. Somebody posing as Sir Jeremy France called me from Vauxhall Cross and offered to help rescue him in exchange for Fencepost. They knew exactly what bait to dangle in front of me." Her voice got bitter. "I let him down, I let you down, and I let my country down. If you want to send me back I understand."

"No, I'm not going to send you back. You did find out about the bomb in Oxford so things turned out for the best. Perhaps your brain and heart should work as a team for a change. If an American agent is being held in China you should have let me know. I would do anything in my power to help him. After you first told us about Fencepost I contacted Director Hayes about it. This morning she called back with permission to release it to the British government. You should talk to her yourself and confirm it of course but I'm hoping you could leave us a copy. Six is interested in it too. Perhaps you could teach some select agents how to install it.

"I'll do a workshop on it. Teaching this thing is a pain in the ass and I don't want to have to do it twice! I'll confirm it and perhaps we could do it this afternoon after I get a few hours of shuteye in the jail cell."

"Very well Chloe, I'll make the arrangements."

Chloe limped across The Grid to Colin's workshop. He leaped to his feet as she came in. "Chloe! I was so worried about you!"

"Yeah, I was worried about me too." She thrust a small plastic box into his hand. "Here, you can have this damned thing back."

"Didn't they search you? Where did you hide it?"

"None of your gawd damned business where I hid it!" Chloe snapped. Then she got a pained expression on her face. "You think next time you can do something about those sharp corners?"

"Umm, it's just a prototype I was tinkering with. It was never meant to be used in the field. But I'll see what I can do."

"You might try incorporating it in the jacket. Then minitureization wouldn't be such a problem."

"That's a good idea, Thanks."

"I've got some stuff to do Colin, I'll catch you later."

Chloe stumped over to her workshop and dialed a number. After three rings a sleepy voice answered. "Bill Buchannan."

" Bill this is Chloe O'Brian. I need to know if Fencepost has been released to the British."

"Chloe, it's two a.m. here."

"I know, I figured you'd be home."

"Well, I don't know anything about it Chloe."

"Karen does. Let me talk to her and don't pretend she isn't there."

"This is Karen Hayes."

"Has Fencepost been released to the British?"

"Yes, I cleared it with President Gardner this afternoon. I don't think he fully understands what it is but it has been cleared."

"Thanks."

"Also the investigation has been concluded. You can come home now."

"Umm, OK, that's great. I'll do that."

Chloe hung up then dialed another number. "Curtis Manning here."

"Curtis, it's Chloe. I just got word that the investigation is over and I can come home."

"Yes you can."

"So how's the family?"

"The family's fine."

Chloe hesitated. She gave him the opening. No mention of Aunt Jane. It's safe. "So all my sins have been forgiven?"

Curtis chuckled, "Not quite, but there won't be any further problems for you. I can't explain it over the phone. I'll wait until you get here."

"Not even a letter of reprimand? Three more and I can wallpaper my apartment."

"Not this time. I'll see you later."

"OK, thanks Curtis." Chloe hung up. She wondered what the hell happened back in the United States. Oh well nothing she could do about it. She's had a rough night. Time to go downstairs to the jail cell and catch some Z's.

That afternoon Chloe woke up from her nap and changed. A look in the mirror. _'I look like death warmed over.' _A bit of primping and make up. _'Still look like shit. Oh well.' _She limped back up to The Grid where Ruth greeted her.

"Good afternoon Chloe. Colin and Jo have already left to set things up. You'll be giving your lessons over at Vauxhall Cross. Your escort is already here." She took Chloe to another room where a man in a suit and visitor's badge awaited her.

"Ah! Sleeping beauty awakes!" He gave a short bow. "Jools Sitivar at your service."

Chloe shook his hand. She wasn't sure she liked him or not. He seemed a bit stuck up but she wasn't here to make friends. "Let's go."

Vauxhall Cross was almost just across the river from Thames House. Jools quickly got her checked in with security and escorted her through the building. They went down a hallway together when a door opened up and Scott Jensen stepped out holding a folder. Jools noticed Chloe and Scott both stopped and stared at each other with undisguised hatred. Apparently they've met before. "Why don't you two lovebirds just get a room?" Jools asked with a smirk.

The glare Chloe gave him was nearly enough to peel the paint off the walls but then she tossed her head and strode past agent Jensen without another word. Jools had to double step to catch up with her.

The basement had a group of computers set up for them to work with. Chloe was introduced to Ros Myers and Steve McKenzie of MI 6. Colin and Jo were there in behalf of MI 5. Chloe handed each of them a disk. "OK, let's cut the crap and begin. This isn't a program. It's a weapon. A very dangerous weapon. All these computers are off the network. We're going to have a long day ladies and gentlemen."

It was a long day. The British agents soon learned that Chloe had a large and colourful vocabulary with several synonyms for stupid and slow. Colin and Jo found out that she didn't play favourites and cursed them out as much as she did the strangers. It was late in the evening before she was finally satisfied. Everybody was exhausted.

Jools came in with another man. "Chloe O'Brian, I would like you to meet Michael Collingwood. He's in charge of Far East operations until Sir Jeremy French returns."

Michael Collingwood shook Chloe's hand. "I would like to thank you for your time and trouble and I came to tell you that I will do everything in my power to locate and retrieve Agent Bauer."

"Thank you sir."

After he left Jo and Colin came up. "Let's get back." Jo said.

"Guys I'm going home tomorrow. Back to California."

"Chloe, we'll miss you!" Jo threw her arms around her and kissed her cheek. Chloe hugged her back and surprised her with a kiss on the lips.

"You're not going back to the jail cell again are you?" Colin asked.

"No, I think the safe house is safe again."

"I wouldn't dream of it! Come stay with me!"

Chloe gave him a sour look. "Colin I'm in a lot of pain right now. My foot hurts, My arm hurts. All the painkillers are doing is keeping me from screaming. That means that I'm in a much crabbier, bitchier mood than usual and I'm not in the mood for sex of any kind or description."

Colin smiled. "I don't mind. Chloe, you're like lemonade. I can't enjoy the sweet without the sour. And there's more to life than sex."

'_More to life than sex? Are you sure you're a guy?' _Chloe thought about it. Colin was a really sweet guy. Besides she never did get around to buying groceries. The safe house didn't have coffee. And she didn't want to spend another night alone. She's had far too many of those over the years. "OK Colin. I'll stay with you."

Neither one noticed Steve Mckenzie was in the doorway watching them.


	23. Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

**Chloe And The Mice **

**Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad**

**Chapter 23**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

I want you

I need you

But there ain't no way I'm ever going to love you

Now don't be sad

'Cause two out of three ain't bad

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

By Meat Loaf

Chloe slept only intermittently. Between the burns, broken bones, and Colin's irritating snore she kept waking up during the night. She rolled over on her side and watched him sleep. Since the divorce she never realized how much she missed having a man in her bed. Colin had respected her wishes and never pushed her for sex or even hinted at it. He was a good man and very intelligent. Kind of cute in a balding nerd sort of way. He didn't even mind her crankiness. She liked him. She didn't really love him. Chloe didn't fall in love quickly or easily. Her mistrust and defenses made that impossible but she might with a little more time. _'No time,'_ she thought. _'He's got his little corner of the world to protect and I've got mine.' _She had loved Morris a little. He was sweet but eventually there was no trust. He'd lied to her too many times about his drinking and womanizing. Trust and honesty were very important to Chloe. Jack trusted her and needed her but he didn't love her. Not in any romantic sense anyway. It was a nice fantasy but she had to face reality. She's much too crabby and not very pretty, . Not quite up to Jack's standards and certainly not as beautiful as Audrey. Besides, two out of three ain't bad

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. _'Maybe I wasn't meant for love. I'm already in my mid thirties. I've got a job that occasionally tries to kill me and someday it will succeed. I doubt that I'll ever have any children or even grow old. I guess I should take whatever I can get while I still can.'_

"Chloe, are you alright?" Colin's whisper pierced the darkness. He tried to focus on her. He couldn't see very well in the dark without his glasses.

"Yeah, it's just the foot and the arm." She looked over at him. "Next time you get some vacation time come on out to Los Angeles. You can stay with me. I'll take you to Disneyland or even Silicone Valley if you like."

Colin smiled. "I'd like that. I'll have three weeks off in about two months. I'll take you up on that offer. I've always wanted to see Silicone Valley."

Chloe nestled her head on his shoulder and dozed off.

………………………………...

Colin's alarm clock started beeping. Chloe grumbled as she reached over and shut it off. Colin turned on the lamp and sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his eyes. "You can have first crack at the bathroom Chloe, I'll whip up some breakfast." He started to get up but a small hand grabbed the back of his T-shirt and yanked.

"Not so fast Baldy. I'm feeling better now."

"Are you sure? We don't have much time."

"We have plenty of time. I reset the alarm clock ahead one hour. Just be careful now. Let me help you with that. Just take it easy. Owww! Shit! That's my bad arm! Watch it you clumsy oaf! That's better, just take it easy. . ."

Two and a half hours later they returned to Thames House. Chloe still had to install the Fencepost vaccine program. They walked in together. It was an open secret that they'd been sleeping together and Chloe didn't care anymore what anybody thought. There were a few whispers as they crossed the Grid then entered the Tech Room. Chloe opened an access port, placed a disk into it, and began entering code.

"Hi Chloe!" Jo entered the Tech Room.

"I'm busy! Go away!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm leaving town soon. This will be my last chance to see you."

Chloe stopped typing. "No, I'm sorry. This will wait. I'm just a cranky bitch."

Jo sat on the edge of the desk. "No Chloe, you're so much more than just a cranky bitch. Can I sign your cast?"

"No. So where're you going?"

"Need to know."

Chloe nodded. She and Jo lived in a world of secrets. Only the people directly involved in Jo's mission, those with a need to know would know anything about it and they would only know the bare minimum necessary to carry out their roles. Chloe wasn't one of those people. "Well, good luck."

"Thanks Chloe, I guess we'll have to take a rain check on the toenail thing."

"Yeah, just as well, half my toenails are out of commission. Wish we could have gotten to know each other better."

"Oh Chloe, there aren't that many people who do what we do. I'm sure we'll run into each other again. Well I got to go now. Time to save the world again."

"So long Jo. You be careful out there."

Early that afternoon Chloe had installed and tested the vaccine program. It should protect their system from both Fencepost and Strawberry. Colin should be able to install it over at Six.

Colin got her suitcase. "I guess it's time to go." He sounded a little wistful.

Chloe had mixed feelings. She missed her old friends back home but she would also miss her new friends over here. Still as Jo pointed out their world was a rather small one and they did have access to the most advanced communications systems in the world.

As they crossed The Grid they were intercepted by Harry and Ruth. "Chloe, I would like to thank you for all the help you've given us over the past few days." Harry told her, "You were instrumental in breaking up a very dangerous terrorist cell as well as giving us some useful computer programs."

"I also wrecked your computer and killed eight innocent civilians including two children."

"No we wrecked the computer by putting the virus in without your permission and Rourke killed the civilians. Not you. Just remember, if there's anything you need just ask us."

"That goes two ways." She looked into Ruth's grey eyes. "If you or any of your people need anything from me all you need to do is ask."

Ruth nodded. "I'll remember that."

At the security desk Chloe retrieved her Berretta It felt light. All ammunition had been expended. She double checked it to be sure it was empty and stowed it into her suitcase. It had saved her life at the Italian restaurant, killed two terrorists and wounded a third. She still didn't like guns but this one felt like an old friend. After all she didn't always like her old friends.

Colin drove her to Heathrow Airport. Chloe felt awkward sitting next to him. He wasn't really a boyfriend but more than just a friend. She hoped she didn't lead him on. _'There's no relationship. I just have urges like everyone else. It's been years since I slept with anyone who wasn't a damned traitor. I don't love him. I've failed in every relationship I've ever been in. It's better this way. I would just drive him away like I have every other man.'_

"So, what are you thinking?" Colin asked.

"None of your beeswax what I'm thinking!" Chloe snapped. She looked out the window at the big weird Ferris wheel thing the British put up by the river. _'Why the Hell would anyone put a Ferris wheel there?' _"I don't like people trying to get inside my head! It's just another one of my quirks. Part of what makes up my crappy personality."

"I happen to think your personality is rather charming."

"Colin, you're weird. You know that?"

Colin smiled. "That's part of what makes up my own charming personality."

Colin carried her bags into the terminal and checked them in. He then escorted her to customs where she stopped and threw her arms around him giving him a kiss. "Don't get any ideas Colin. You're not my boyfriend. But don't forget. Two months. Come see me."

He kissed her back. "I won't forget Chloe. I'll be there."

Chloe limped over to the customs official and handed over her burgundy passport. "Thank you ma'am. Hope you enjoyed your visit here. . .Here now! What's this?" He poked a finger through the hole in the passport.

"That's a bullet hole from a sniper rifle and no I didn't enjoy my visit. I thought it sucked!" She then looked wistfully over to where Colin was still watching her. "But you have some good people here. Some very good people."

Chloe limped through the terminal to her gate. _'I don't love him. Not really. He's just a friend. So why does this hurt so much?' _She put her hand into her purse and felt the paperback book inside. _'I never did get around to reading about the shirtless pirate.'_

………………………………...

At Bolelyn Ground West Ham was playing Tottenham Hotspur. The crowds were howling as the two rivals battled each other in a football match. On an upper tier where the people were fewer and scattered thinner three men sat together not paying much attention to the action on the field at all. Michael Collingwood sat up there with Steve McKenzie and Scott Jensen. The randomly chosen location along with the noise of the crowd should drown out any listening devices.

"So what do we do now?" Scott asked. "They got Rourke and his whole cell was either captured or killed."

"We proceed." Michael replied. "This operation is much bigger than just Rourke. Yes, I would have liked the cargo container and yes, I would have liked the lorry bomb to have reached its target. Rourke made a lot of nice promises but in the end he wasn't able to deliver on any of them. We just delay it for a few weeks and proceed. The casualties may only be in the hundreds instead of the thousands we hoped for but it should still be enough to take down this weakling government and replace it with a much stronger one. Britain was once the world's premier superpower and it will be again." He shook his head. "Rourke had too many of his own hang ups. He wasn't really into the big picture. Eventually we would have had to remove him ourselves."

Steve, who was sitting behind them, finished his Coke and tossed the empty plastic bottle carelessly away. "And we were able to get Fencepost without his help. Thank you Chloe O'Brian."

Michael smirked a little. "She actually thinks I'm going to bust my butt trying to get her buddy out of a Chinese jail. I've got much better things to do. We'll just tell her the agent failed his mission. Happens all the time. I won't even bother telling Sir Jeremy about it."

Scott scowled. "I still think you let me go to Los Angeles and take her out. She's caused us enough problems."

"No! This operation is much too important to have you flying off to America and playing your silly revenge fantasies!"

Steve leaned forward and put his hand on Scott's shoulder. "Besides, there are much better ways to hurt a woman." He whispered something into Scott's ear that turned his scowl into a smile.

………………………...………...

Chloe limped out of LAX customs to where Curtis was waiting for her. "Chloe! What happened to your foot?"

"I stubbed my toe." She gave him a hug.

"Can I sign your cast?"

"No, Let's get my bags and you can tell me what's going on."

After Curtis stowed her bags they headed back to CTU. "The investigation was called off." Curtis told her. "Presidents Gardner and Esparza are both facing tough elections. Gardner is still tainted by his association with Logan and Esparza is facing his own problems. They both decided that they would look better as a pair of champions standing side by side battling the forces of evil together rather than a pair of clueless chumps without any idea of what's going on." He smiled. "So what really happened is that you didn't forge the authorization. President Gardner signed it with the full approval of President Esparza. You didn't call Admiral Hodges and send the SEALS down to Tijuana. That really was Karen Hayes making the call. By the way it was really a joint attack by the U.S. Navy and the Mexican Army. You had a relatively small role guiding the SEALS and the Mexican troops in by satellite."

"So we tell lies to make politicians look good." Chloe crossed her arms and scowled. "I can live with that."

When Chloe stumped into CTU Morris rose from his station to greet her. "Hi sweetheart! What happened to your foot?"

"Ingrown toenail and no, you can't sign my cast."

Morris smiled. "Come over here, I've got something to show you." He took her to the wall where a framed commendation was hanging. "So what do you think?"

Chloe looked at the document. It had some brownish red spots and larger spots that were kind of clumpy, dark yellowish with moisture circles. Her mouth opened. _'Oh my God!'_

"So how do you like it?" Morris beamed. "We sprayed it with acrylic to preserve it!"

"You mean do I like seeing my vomit framed and hanging on the wall?! NO I DON'T! TAKE IT DOWN NOW!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Morris grinned. "It's bolted on the wall. Besides it might cause a riot around here. It sets an example to all the analysts that they should be willing to go to any lengths to protect the field agents including shedding their blood and umm, other body fluids." The angry glare Chloe gave him was similar to the ones she used to give him when he came home smelling of another woman's perfume. It actually frightened him. Better distract her quick. "There's someone who wanted to speak to you as soon as you came in. This way."

He led her to his workstation and punched in a few keys. Chloe looked at the woman who appeared on the screen and her brow furrowed. _'Who is it?' _Hispanic woman, blond hair, dark roots. Then she noticed the body cast. _'Oh, Gloria Lopez.' _She had a small ring hanging around her neck on a silver chain. "Uhh, Agent Lopez? Hello?"

Agent Lopez looked up. There was no doubt a camera and screen in her room. "Hi Chloe, we met last year! Remember?"

"No."

"Well anyway, Shorty over there finally asked me to marry him!"

"I'm not short where it counts!" A male voice from off screen. Antonio must be in another bed in the same room.

"In your dreams Pendajo!" She shouted back. Gloria then returned to the screen. "Well, anyway I have to wear the engagement ring around my neck until I get my fingers back. We're getting married in August and we want you to be the maid of honor!"

"Me? You don't even know me!"

"Yes we do! We know who stood up for us! Who fought for us! Who shed her blood for us! It's because of you that I'll be walking down the aisle! I might be wearing leg braces but I'm walking that aisle and I want you to be there!"

"Oh alright, I'll be your maid of honor." Chloe looked up to see Shari Rosenthal leaving Karen's office escorted by two security guards. "Excuse me! Gotta go!"

Chloe hobbled up to Shari. "Wait a minute!"

"We need to escort Miss Rosenthal from the building." The guard looked imposing.

Chloe stared him down. He seemed to wilt under her gaze. "I need to speak to her. Privately. You can watch from over there."

The guards backed away. Chloe looked into Shari's eyes. "What happened?"

"When you were flying back Karen seemed determined not to let you off Scott free. She wanted to pin the Daniel Bell leak on you. I found the telephone records from the restaurant to the paper. The time codes showed you hadn't left CTU when the call was made. I could have altered them to frame you and I admit it was tempting but I couldn't do it. I went ahead and confessed."

"Oh Shari."

"It's OK. If I stopped Senator Bell from becoming President it was worth it. With him out of the way, Wayne Palmer is a shoo in for the party nomination."

"Well, good by Shari." Chloe watched as her friend was escorted out. With Gardner as weak as he was, Palmer was nearly guaranteed to be the next President. She disagreed with him on a lot of things. Wayne's way too liberal for her taste but when it came to terrorism and defense his heart was in the right place. He'd fought with Jack out in the field and was practically an honorary field agent. She could support him. She looked around the common room. Same old shithole. She was home.

Author's note: The story's almost finished. One more chapter to go. I meant to finish it tonight but the chapter was getting so long I thought I'd split it in two. See you next week.


	24. In The Company Of Heroes

**Chloe And The Mice**

**Chapter 24**

**In The Company Of Heroes**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**The good Dane felt now that the world had no joys for him; and not long afterward he was carried back to the sweet Vale of Avelon where he still lives to this day in the company of heroes.**

**The Song of Roland**

CTU 21 Days Later

Chloe pulled the ruler off her desk and shoved it in down the side of her cast. She pulled it back and forth until she hit the itch. She really missed her foot and couldn't wait to get the cast off. She then returned to her screen. Britain was being hit by a series of terrorist attacks. Chloe wished she could hop on the next jet to London and do something to help her friends but the United States went on Orange Alert and all leaves were cancelled. So far everything was quiet here in the U. S. of A. All the jihadist traffic seemed surprised at the British attacks. Not angry or disappointed. They were elated but still . . . suprised.

She glanced up at Audrey. Audrey was staring blankly into space. Chloe was a little worried about her. She had been talking about going to China by herself to rescue Jack. Chloe thought that would qualify as the dumbest dumb plan in the history of dumb plans except that the word plan indicates thought and she couldn't see any thought behind it. Best case scenario, the Chinese completely ignore her. Worst case scenario, they put the screws to Audrey to get to Jack.

Chloe understood how she felt. She loved Jack too. Every day he stayed imprisoned seemed like a knife in the gut reminding her of her own failure. But she couldn't see how Audrey could accomplish anything useful and would probably just make things worse. They weren't even sure where Jack was. Michael Collingwood had sent her a coded message that their agent had been arrested but the Chinese didn't get Fencepost.

The relationship between the two women was rather awkward. Audrey got all Jack's loving, the kissing, the sex, while Chloe got a nearly insane level of trust, deep friendship, and confidence in her competence. Chloe was the only one who stayed in touch with Jack while he was on the run. Both women envied what the other one had.

But still Chloe liked Audrey and tried to talk her out of it. Jack loved her and would be devastated if anything bad happened to her. Two days ago on the big screen in the conference room she put up a map of China next to a map of the U.S. to show her how big it was. Nothing. She then put up red dots to show how many jails and prisons were in the country while reminding Audrey that Jack wasn't necessarily in any of them and the Chinese certainly weren't going to let her wander through them looking for him. Still nothing. Chloe explained that the People's Liberation Army had over two million active troops and that the Ministry of State Security was one of the best secret police organizations in the world and neither of them can be overcome by the power of TRUUE LUUUVE. A blank look. Nothing she said or did could get through to either one of Audrey's working brain cells.

Chloe remembered looking into those shimmering green eyes so full of hope and again wondered what it was like being stupid. Are stupid people even aware that they're stupid? Do they think they're really smart? Audrey reminded Chloe of the cheerleaders in high school. They weren't usually really mean to Chloe. They just pretended she didn't exist. Chloe's brow furrowed as she tried to think of a way to get through to Audrey. Maybe a puppet show?

A new update came in from London. Chloe scanned the screen trying to figure out what the Hell was going on over there. None of it seemed to make any sense. Then a line caught her eye. Just a couple of sentences. She went back and reread it. _'No, no, no.' _The screen began to blur. She shut it down and hobbled as fast as she could to the ladies room. She didn't want anyone to see her cry.

Morris watched Chloe get up and leave. He was worried about her. Ever since she got back from London she seemed moody and withdrawn. She never talked about her experiences there and answered all questions with curt, one word answers. Morris still had contacts at MI-5 and had managed to wheedle out of Malcolm the fact that she'd been captured and had her toes broken by a terrorist. Morris was deeply angered by that. Chloe always had such soft, beautiful feet with small delicate toes and the idea of somebody desecrating them outraged him.

But there was more to the story than broken toes. Something really horrible happened over there. Nobody he talked to was willing to say anything. They either didn't know or they clammed up. Whatever got Chloe so upset seemed to have a conspiracy of silence around it.

Morris still cared about Chloe, he'd always cared about her. His brother Timothy warned him against marrying her but all Timothy ever saw was a scowling, plain faced woman. Was he blind!? Nevertheless, to say the marriage was a stormy one would be an understatement. Morris loved the night life. Music, dancing, parties, nightclubs, drinking. Chloe hated parties, dancing, crowds, and loud music. She considered discos to be hellish places that she could only endure for a few minutes before fleeing. Morris also knew he was a weak willed man who often gave in to temptation whether it was alcohol, women, or something else. He had cheated on her, lied to her, and betrayed her in every way a man can betray a woman. Their shouting matches were enough to frighten the neighbors. He still remembered the look she gave him when the doctor confirmed that he had given her gonorrhea and that they both needed treatment. He would have preferred that she screamed at him, hit him, tried to claw his eyes out, God knows he deserved it but what Chloe did to him was far worse. There wasn't a single word. Just that look. The divorce came soon after. There were only two lines he never crossed. He never struck her and he never for one second ever stopped loving her.

He set to work repositioning several American spy satellites to scan Britain. He wanted to stop the attacks as much as anybody. Morris had been an American citizen for over a decade now but you never lose your love for the land of your birth. After turning temporary control of the satellites over to the British he looked back over at Chloe's station. She still hadn't come back. Morris frowned. He got up to look for her.

He checked the Tech room and the other rooms in the back of the building. Nothing. There was one room he hadn't checked yet. He hesitated in front of the ladies room then pushed the door open.

Earlier Chloe had rushed into the ladies room, locked herself into a stall, sat down, and began weeping. _'Those bastards! Those evil shits! Why? Why? Everything I touch turns to shit! Everyone I love dies!'_ She tore off a length of toilet paper and dabbed her eyes as her body shook with anguish and rage. After a while she heard the door open. She stifled her sobs and hoped whoever it was would do her business and leave quickly.

The ladies room appeared empty. Morris bent over to look under the stalls There! He saw the cast along side the ugly two toned patent leather shoe he once tried to talk her out of buying.

"Chloe! Are you alright?" Chloe heard Morris's voice.

"This is the ladies room! Get the hell out!"

"Please Chloe, you've been in here for forty minutes. Please tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong is I'm taking a dump! Go away!"

There were a few seconds of silence. Did he leave? Then she heard his voice again. "No you're not. You still have your trousers pulled up."

"MORRIS! YOU SLEAZY, LYING, WHORING, DRUNKEN, TWO-TIMING BUCKET OF SHIT!"

"Yes, I'm all that and more." Morris's voice sounded sad. "I know I've hurt you so many times but this isn't about me. Something else is hurting you. Please let me help."

For long moments there was silence. Morris wondered if he had gone too far peeping though the crack into the stall. He had violated her privacy. Then the stall door opened. Chloe was standing there eyes swollen, cheeks streaked with tears. She was normally such a strong woman but now she looked so very small and vulnerable. He opened his arms. He was afraid to step forward. Then she hobbled up to him and threw her arms around him. Her tears wet his shirt as he held her and he could feel her body shake as she sobbed.

"It's Colin." she sobbed. "They found his body two hours ago. The bastards murdered him! They hanged him! Just like Nathan Hale, just like John Andre!"

Morris gently stroked her back. "Then he died in the company of heroes. I'm sorry love. There's nothing I can say to make you feel better." The door to the ladies room opened and the new girl, Nadia? Stepped in and stopped. Surprised to see a man in there. Morris quietly waved her out.

"It's too much! The price we pay, it's just too much! All the friends we lose! The innocent people I've murdered! The children! It's too much! And we have to keep paying it! I can't bear it anymore! I can't quit but I can't bear it anymore!"

Morris's brow furrowed. _'The innocent people she's murdered? The children? What really happened over there in England?' _

Chloe went on "When Kevin Rourke was killed, I didn't feel happy. I didn't feel relief. I didn't feel anything. I knew that someone else would replace him. Someone always does. It never ends. We'll have to pay the price again and again."

"You won't have to pay it by yourself." He murmured. "I will share the burden. No matter what happens I'll be there for you."

Chloe kept holding him. Another one of her friends died. And deep inside another little piece of her soul died with him.

**Epilogue**

The red headed woman strode through Heathrow. She once had a name. She once had a life. But not anymore. She was a true spook. A ghost. That other woman that she used to be was now officially dead. A pair of dark sunglasses hid her eyes. They were once grey but were now blue. The red hair wasn't natural but she had done a very good job dying it not neglecting the eyebrows which were also carefully reshaped. She didn't know if they were still looking for her but she didn't want to take any chances. The airport had recently installed O'Brian's new facial recognition program but there were some ways to beat it. There weren't that many infrared scanners and she knew exactly where they all were. A small wedge in one shoe altered her walk slightly. Cotton balls in her cheeks altered the shape of her face. She had both hands thrust into her coat pockets. She normally didn't walk that way but they might have programmed her body language into the system. As she approached the security checkpoint where one of the scanners was her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. She didn't pick up her eye shadow at the make up counter in Harrods. It was designed to reflect infrared light the same as her eyes would except it showed them as being 3/8ths of an inch further apart than they were. It wouldn't fool a human but it would a computer. Without the sunglasses she looked like some kind of crazy tart but she would clean them off in the loo once she's in the air. It was one of the last things Colin worked on before his murder. He thought Chloe's program was far too good and immediately set about finding ways to beat it. For every move there's a countermove. That's how the game is played. Spy vs. Spy.

Once past security she collected her handbag and approached the gate. She was flying to Moscow, then Calcutta, then Tokyo and on to Mexico City. At every airport she would buy a new ticket under a different name. She had several passports. She hated leaving though. For this woman patriotism was as natural as the air she breathed. She loved her country but when you're on the run it seems like such a small claustrophobic little island. Her ultimate destination was North America. The United States and Canada. Two gigantic English speaking countries with an open border. 7.5 million square miles. 335 million people. It would be very easy to get lost in North America.

The woman boarded the plane and got a window seat. As the plane taxied to the runway she kept staring out the window. She was leaving behind everything she loved. One man in particular. She shut her eyes. _'Oh Harry. Someday I will come back I swear.' _Harry had been forced to chose between betraying either his country or the woman he loved. For either one of them it was no choice at all. The woman understood it. She would have made the same choice. As the plane took off she kept staring out the window until England finally disappeared. Her ultimate destination was Los Angeles. She had a friend there. Someone who could provide identity documents, food, shelter. And maybe a little companionship. Being on the run is very lonely. There probably wouldn't be any girl's nights out. Her friend wasn't very gregarious. But perhaps they can drink a toast to Nathan Hale, John Andre, and Colin Wells. Those who passed on before them.

**The End**

Author's note: I finally finished it. My longest story ever. Many thanks to my reviewers; Jesse611, laura sedai, chezlovesyou, erica1531, Sam, mollyina, jd burns, Claire M C, Teleri Pendaren, Kyomay, Vaniah, princess dreams, Dulcedecorumest, shosh, Maddy, Queen Hotaru, 24Heroesfan, That anonymous Briton who explained handbags and tills to me. I especially would like to thank my good friend Rachael (Exotic Rooftile) who helped me out with a lot of Britishisms. You made the story a lot better than it would have been. You are all great. And all you people who read it but didn't review. You're great too. I might write a sequel about Ruth and Chloe in LA but don't hold your breath. I haven't any idea what the plot would be.


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